A “five minutes to pay” parking rule has left a woman facing a £1,906 bill.
Rosey Hudson is being taken to court by the operator of a car park in Derby for not paying her tickets within five minutes of arrival.
She said poor signal on her mobile phone meant she had to use Wi-Fi at her place of work to purchase tickets on an app, paying £3.30 each day starting in February 2023.
But she has since been sent 10 penalty charge notices (PCNs) worth £100 each for not paying for parking within five minutes.
Excel Parking, which runs the Copeland Street car park, is demanding Miss Hudson pay £1,905.76 to clear nine outstanding PCNs, which includes a £70 “debt recovery” charge for each one, eight per cent annual interest and £195 in court costs.
‘Absolutely ludicrous’
A spokesman for the company said she was “the author of her own misfortune” because she had taken “between 14 and 190 minutes” to purchase tickets.
Miss Hudson said the claim was “absolutely ludicrous” and any delays were because the app did not process them immediately.
“I was trying to get reception and wasn’t able to, so I got my Wi-Fi within the store and paid online through their app,” she told BBC News.
Miss Hudson added: “I rang the company and explained the situation, and they basically said ‘you have to pay it’.
“So to keep them off my back I did pay the initial parking fine.”
On Nov 11, the two parties attended mediation by telephone over the remaining nine tickets but a settlement was not reached, meaning the case will now go to court.
“I believe I have got a good case and I believe that it will help not just me, but potentially other people that have been in this situation,” Miss Hudson said.
“Hopefully the judge will understand my case and see my point of view.”
‘Author of her own misfortune’
Excel Parking maintains that the five-minute payment rule was clearly advertised and that Miss Hudson could have paid in cash, which she says was not possible because the payment machine was out of order.
A spokesman for the company said she had also turned down an option to appeal to the Independent Appeals Service (IAS).
In a statement, the spokesman said: “The signage at the car park made it clear that it was ‘Pay on Entry’ and that there was a maximum period of five minutes to purchase the parking tariff.
“This is one of the specific terms and conditions for use of the car park. It is the driver’s responsibility to read and understand the terms.
“It seems that Miss Hudson is the author of her own misfortune.”
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