A woman is facing a whopping £1,906 car park bill despite paying for a space every time.
Rosey Hudson is being taken to court by the operator of a Derby car park for failing to pay her tickets within five minutes of arrival.
The Telegraph reports that she claims that poor mobile signal forced her to wait until she reached work to buy parking tickets via an app. Since February 2023, she has been paying £3.30 each day for the tickets.
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But a spokesperson for the car parking company claimed the woman was the “author of her own misfortune.”
She claims has received 10 penalty charge notices (PCNs) of £100 each for not paying within five minutes of parking. Excel Parking, which operates the Copeland Street car park, is demanding Miss Hudson cough up £1,905.76 to settle nine outstanding PCNs.
The outstanding fines includes a £70 ‘debt recovery’ fee for each, eright per cent annual interest and £195 court costs.
A company spokesperson blamed her for her predicament, stating she took “between 14 and 190 minutes” to purchase tickets each time.
Miss Hudson labelled the claim as “absolutely ludicrous”, attributing any delays to the app’s failure to process payments instantly.
“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.
“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 November 11, during a phone mediation over nine outstanding tickets, no agreement could be reached between Miss Hudson or Excel car parking, sending the case to the courtroom.
“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,” said Miss Hudson.
“Hopefully the judge will understand my case and see my point of view.”
Excel Parking says it five-minute rule is clearly signed in the car park, adding Miss Hudson had the alternative to pay with coins – an option she insists was impossible due to a faulty machine.
A spokesman for the firm pointed out that Miss Hudson declined to appeal through the Independent Appeals Service (IAS).
The spokesperson 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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