A woman has been landed with a £1,906 bill after she took longer than five minutes to pay for parking at a site in Derby.
Rosey Hudson paid the full tariff every time she parked her vehicle at the Excel Parking Ltd site, but did so after walking to where she could connect her phone due to bad signal service.
Despite this, the company sent her 10 Parking Charge Notices (PCNs) and argued that she had exceeded the maximum period of five minutes to purchase the tariff at Copeland Street.
In a statement to the BBC, the car park operator said that Miss Hudson had breached its terms and conditions and was the “author of her own misfortune”.
She had started using the car park in February 2023 and said that the parking machine was out of order, so she tried to pay using the phone app.
Due to poor reception, she used the wifi in the store at the nearby Derbion centre, and paid the daily £3.30 fee each day until she received a PCN letter asking her to pay £100 within 28 days, which would be reduced to £60 if she paid within a fortnight.
After ringing the company to explain the situation, they insisted she pay the fee which she did the “keep them off my back”.
She then received a further nine PCNs for £100 each, which was increased as Excel Parking added an extra £70 debt recovery charge to each one, an interest of 8 per cent per annum and £115 court fee, as well as £80 costs for a legal representative.
Miss Hudson believes the five-payment rule is “totally unreasonable” and said: “I haven’t got children but I can imagine a busy mum trying to sort her kids out, trying to pay for something when there’s no signal here, and the machine being out of order,” she said.
“This has been going on for over a year now, and I’m just really hoping it can be resolved.
“I desperately don’t want this to happen to anybody else, more than anything, because it gives you a lot of stress.”
In a statement, a 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.”
Two MPs have previously written to Excel Parking over concerns people were being unfairly fined, while the company has said the five-minute rule is to ensure motorists don’t simply use the car park for drop off and pick up purposes.
Excel Parking also told the BBC that Miss Hudson had taken between 14 to 190 minutes to pay the tariff, and could have used cash at the machine.
Despite the two parties conducting telephone mediation, a settlement over the payment has not been reached and a court hearing has been scheduled for six months time.
“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,” she said.
“Hopefully the judge will understand my case and see my point of view.”