Parking fine for being forty seconds over ticket time

Karen Johnson is frustrated with car park operators ParkingEye after she received a parking fine for being over her ticket by forty seconds.

Karen purchased a ticket for the Cheetham Street car park in Rochdale town centre on Wednesday 14 May at 14:41:09 and paid £1.20. This gave her two hours up until 16:41:09 to use the car park.

Karen states that she arrived back at her car within the given time and was pictured leaving the car park by operators at 16:41:49.

Karen said: “I duly returned in two hours and before the expiration of the ticket. How do those 50 seconds permit one to purchase a ticket, put on a seatbelt and start a car?”

Karen was then threatened with a £100 fine, reduced to £60 if she paid before 4 June.

She added: “This whole operation is designed to deliberately mislead, entrap and frighten the innocent law abiding driver into paying an illegitimate fine to avoid the higher charge.”

A spokesperson for ParkingEye said: “Car park users enter into a contract to pay the appropriate amount for the duration of their visit or not exceed free parking limits. A parking charge only becomes payable if the terms and conditions are not adhered to.

"In the case of the parking charge queried, having checked through the transactions for that day, we can find no record of a ticket being bought for that vehicle which nevertheless stayed in the Cheetham Street car park for more than 2 hours.

“We understand that genuine mistakes are sometimes made, however, and we operate an audited appeals process, encouraging people to appeal if they feel there are mitigating circumstances, for example, an incorrectly entered registration number.

"ParkingEye is a member of the British Parking Association's approved operator scheme. Members of the BPA are required to follow a Code of Practice that is supported by the AA and the DVLA.”

Karen now says she will challenge the fine on principle. She said: “This cannot be an isolated case and merits further investigation.

"I will refuse to pay this company and on principle will fight if necessary.

"Rochdale deserves better and so do the people who visit the town.”