Latest news with #parkingfine
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
'I was fined for spending six hours in a car park - I was only there 20 minutes!'
A DRIVER has blasted a 'disgusting' fine which claimed he had parked for six hours in a car park - when he had been there for just 20 minutes. Sam Surridge, of Worboys Road, St Johns, was shocked and confused to receive a letter from Euro Car Parks stating he had exceeded the maximum stay at Tybridge Retail Park by several hours and had to pay £100. The 61-year-old said: "They sent a picture of my van leaving the car park which they say was taken at 4.13pm, but it can't be because my van was in my driveway from 10.45am and throughout the afternoon. "They said I was there for five hours and 53 minutes when I couldn't have been there for any more than 20 minutes. "There is no way that photo could have been taken when they say it was taken." Tybridge Retail Park's car park gives visitors up to two hours of free parking. Mr Surridge's Ring doorbell caught him leaving his home at around 10am on Saturday, May 31, before returning at 10.45am, meaning he would have been in the retail park for no more than 45 minutes. Now, he is using his doorbell footage in an attempt to have the parking fine cancelled. "I have appealed my fine and sent them evidence that my van was on my driveway all day," he said. "But the worrying part is what if I did not have a Ring doorbell which captured when I left and came home? "I'm just concerned it will happen to other people." More: More: More: Euro Car Park, the company that issued Mr Surridge's fine, offers a reduced parking charge of £60 if the fine is paid within two weeks being issued. However, it took almost two weeks before he received the notice, giving him just three days to pay or appeal before the fine becomes £100. "I think it is disgusting," Mr Surridge said. "This is either a system error or it is fraud." Euro Car Park has been contacted by Worcester News for a comment but had not responded by the time we went to press.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Driver Philip Carr finally wins lengthy court fight to overturn £9,500 fine for parking outside his own home
A driver has won a long-running court battle to overturn a £9,500 fine he was given for parking outside his own home more than six years ago. Philip Carr was hit with the penalty notice while renting an apartment in Altrincham, Trafford in late 2018 and early 2019. But the car parking operator, Vehicle Control Services Ltd, sent the fine to his old address, where his vehicle was still registered by the DVLA. Mr Carr said that meant he didn't receive the letter and was unaware of the fine. He added that as a tenant he was allowed to use the apartment block's car park but despite 'multiple requests' hadn't been given a permit by the landlord. In May 2023, Mr Carr succeeded in getting the fine struck off after an appeal was heard at Manchester Civil Justice Centre. He argued that following suggestions he was parking without a permit he had called VCS in August and October 2018 and told them 'he was a tenant at the premises and had the right to park there'. A district judge ruled that following those calls, VCS didn't take 'reasonable steps to ascertain [Mr Carr's] address'. The judge also ruled that the fine had expired without being served and struck it out. However, in May 2024, VCS won an appeal to overturn that ruling and reinstate the fine after successfully arguing that the judge was 'wrong to decide that service was defective'. Mr Carr then took the case to the London's Appeal Court where, earlier this month, he once again succeeded in getting the fine struck off. Jackson Yamba, representing Mr Carr, argued the District Judge had made a clear factual finding that the serving of the fine was defective and that there had been no failure or error which justified the decision to overturn that original ruling. The Appeal Court judges Lord Justice Bean, Lord Justice Moylan and Lord Justice Phillips, agreed and once again struck off the fine.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Hastings Borough Council clampdown on illegal promenade parking
Anyone caught driving or parking illegally on Hastings promenade in East Sussex now faces a £50 Borough Council has introduced a parking place order for the seafront after a rise in authority said this has made it dangerous for pedestrians and could potentially damage the number of parking spaces for bicycles is being increased in a bid to encourage cycling across the town. Jo Walker, lead for environment and neighbourhood wellbeing, said: "We hope it reassures people that they can enjoy the promenade safely, without lots of vehicles moving around or blocking their path."The increasing number of unauthorised vehicles driving and parking on the promenade not only puts residents and visitors at risk, but also damages the structure of the prom, which was not designed to support this weight."
Daily Mail
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Pensioner furious after being slapped with 'ridiculous' £170 parking fine... but claims there is a big catch
A pensioner is furious after being hit with a 'ridiculous' £170 fine for overstaying in a car park - even though he wasn't parking. Garth Burden, 80, pulled into an Esso Garage in Rickmansworth to get his car washed and waited patiently in a queue. Little did he know that there was a 15-minute limit in place, enforced by Euro Car Parks, whether parked in a space, washing your car or changing your oil. Mr Burden told MailOnline: 'I was in a queue, and there was a car in front of me and eventually once they drove off, I was able to use the car wash. 'The actual car wash itself took about 10-15 minutes, and I just accepted that would be fine.' However, Mr Burden was later slapped with Parking Charge Notice (PCN) from Euro Car Parks on their doorstep to the tune of £170. He said: 'They said I had stayed for more than 15 minutes but I replied saying "That's ridiculous, I'm going to obviously fight this.' Having been hit with the fine in the run-up to Christmas, while staying with their son in between moving homes, his wife, who owned the car 'was really, really upset' about the fine. But when he asked about the appeal process, Euro Car Parks informed him he had missed the opportunity as he was late collecting the letter containing the PCN from his former home. 'It's so stupid to pay and get done for 15 minutes in a car wash. It's just common sense says you've got to have a bit more time than 15 minutes,' he added. Despite attempting to argue for an opportunity to appeal, Mr Burden was hit with another blow - a letter from Debt Recovery Plus on behalf of Euro Car Parks demanding the sum for the alleged contravention. 'I kept saying to everyone, "I wasn't parking my car in the garage. I was going through a car wash". 'I wrote to them and said, as far as I'm concerned I'm not guilty of an offence cause I wasn't parking my car. I was in a car wash. 'If you want to pursue this with the court, tell me where you're will seek legal action, and I will come along and defend myself. 'They claim I have broken a rule about car parking, so anyone that's spending more than 15 minutes in the queue behind me for the car wash no doubt got a ticket. 'So I just thought this is just crazy.' Over the last year-and-a-half, Mr Burden has received around 20 letters from various debt recovery companies about the issue, including Debt Recovery Plus, GCTT Enforcement Agents, QDR Solicitors, ZZPS and DCBL. 'It is an ordeal because of the time involved and whenever I tell anyone I've had another letter about my car wash debacle.' Referencing Euro Car Parks, he added: 'They are trying to screw as much money out of poor motorists as possible. 'It's absolutely ludicrous,' he said: 'And they come up with all sorts of amazing warnings. You have only got to read the reviews on the notices. 'But if you've got an old lady at home or somebody who doesn't know the process of courts, the threat of enforcement agents coming to your home without any sort of court action can be frightening. 'I find it absolutely galling. It's absolutely daft,' as he dubbed the service: 'The most expensive car wash in town.' Mr Burden also claimed there was no signage on the kiosk where he paid for the car wash to suggest there was a 15-minute limit to queue and was your car, adding the only notice about a limit was high-up on a sign that's 'hardly read[able]'. However the 80-year-old is ready and determined to see the situation all the way up to small claims court, adding: 'I would love them to do it. 'I can guarantee the day before or the couple of days before, they will say "We're not going do anything further" or they will say "this is your last chance" or something like that. 'Car parking is a very, very, lucrative business for some of these companies and they really are, you know, raking in the money.' And Mr Burden isn't the only person to fall victim at the garage forecourt with single mother, Natalie Carby, hit with a £100 fine just an hour after she picked up her new car up from the garage. The mother-of-two queued for around 25 minutes for her turn before she headed home on the 15 February, 2023. She didn't give much thought about the experience until a Euro Car Parks fine landed on her doormat 12 days later. Signs at the garage do indicate that the maximum stay for the car park is 15 minutes, but the 41-year-old believes this should not apply to the car wash. With the fine, the £9 wash could now set her back £100. Ms Carby said: 'I'm just absolutely appalled. 'I think it's absolutely outrageous that they can do this. Fair enough there may be signs around for a car park, but the car wash queue is not a car park.' Ms Carby had only bought her new car an hour before she went to get it washed at at the same Esso Garage in Rickmansworth. She had planned to go to the BP garage along the road but found it was closed, forcing herself and other drivers to go to Esso. She said: 'The only reason I went there was because the car wash at the BP garage down the road was closed, which is why there were so many cars queuing in the Esso car wash that day.' She added: 'It has taken a lot of time and effort and help from family members to get this car and then within an hour I'm whacked with a £100 fine. 'I had my previous car for over ten years and I never got a parking fine. An hour of this car and I'm getting a fine for having a car wash - I'm just appalled.' MailOnline has approached Euro Car Parks, DBCL, Debt Recovery Plus, GCTT Enforcement Agents, QDR Solicitors, and ZZPS for comment.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Zoe Bread forces Manchester City Council to refund parking fines
A woman has won a long-running battle over a parking fine by donning a mask like a slice of bread and making a raft of social media videos about campaign started when she received a penalty for parking on Collier Street in Manchester after confusing signs meant she bought a ticket from the wrong machine. After a lengthy row which saw her assume the alter-ego Zoe Bread, pen a song about her quest and make 29 Instagram and TikTok videos seen by millions of people, Manchester City Council has now backed leader Bev Craig said said the signs "could be clearer" and that some other fines issued on the street over the past year would be quashed. T-shirt designer and filmmaker Zoe said her problems began because the 'Pay At Machine' sign on the street pointed to both a council-run car park and private unsuccessfully arguing her case, she submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the council about how many fines had been issued on the the council knocked it back. She then scoured council documents and found there had been a significant rise in the number of penalties issued in the first year the SIP car park was a month-long campaign that included challenging Greater Manchester metro mayor Andy Burnham on a BBC Radio Manchester phone-in, she finally won her battle."The only part of it that I think is bad is the amount of effort it took to get heard, which is obviously not possible for a proper person to do," she told the BBC. 'Annoying' Zoe added that "their system doesn't work, but my system does," putting down her success to being "persistent and annoying".She said she would now help other people who had been caught out in the same way. Opposition Liberal Democrat councillor Alan Good applauded Zoe's he said it "shouldn't have taken the social media pressure that was largely due to Zoe's following".He said the council should cancel fines going back further than the last 12 months, considering the big rise in penalties in 2018, when the privately-run car park was first opened. Council leader Craig - who directly contacted the campaign - said she thanked Zoe for drawing attention to the said the signs on the street complied with all the rules, but that there would be added: "We're going to address this as soon as possible with new signs, by relocating the metre and by asking the owners of the nearby private car park to take down their signs which have contributed to confusion."As a goodwill gesture, we will also quash any pending or unpaid tickets relating to Collier Street - including Zoe's - and review our records of fines for the last 12 months in that location. "We will refund anyone who said at the time that they believed they had paid for their parking." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
