Steve Cottrell, 63, and his partner Joy were hit with a £100 fine after they spent six minutes and 12 seconds in a car park
A couple feel like they were “mugged” during a holiday after being slapped with a £100 parking fine. Steve Cottrell, 63, an NHS nurse from Ruthin, North Wales, and his partner Joy, 56, entered the Old Town (West) Car Park in Weymouth on July 15, hoping to find a spot for their car for their week-long trip.
However, when they reached the ticket machine, Steve found that the contactless payment system was out of order and the prices too high, prompting him to leave and search for another parking space. But after returning home from their holiday, the couple were shocked to receive a £100 fine from Parkingeye, the company managing the car park.
The company claimed the charge was due to Steve exceeding the “five-minute grace period” by one minute and 12 seconds. Feeling like he’d been “mugged”, Steve wrote to several MPs, copied in the Prime Minister, and even penned a letter to the car park’s landowners after his initial appeal was rejected.
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Parkingeye maintained there was no evidence that the contactless payment machine was broken and that Steve had failed to “provide any mitigating circumstances” for exceeding the five-minute rule. However, three months later, the company finally agreed to “cancel the charge as a gesture of goodwill” following contact from PA Real Life.
Steve said: “If there is a five-minute grace period, then I went over by a minute, so I’m being charged £100 for a minute. We didn’t even stop there well, we stopped the car but we didn’t park there.
“I don’t know whether I am cutting my nose off to spite my face, but I just don’t want to pay the money. It feels like I’ve been mugged.
“I think five minutes is unreasonable because by the time you’ve pulled up, got out of the car, made your way over to the ticket machine and read the signs, your time is up and you’ll be fined.”
Steve and his partner Joy took a trip to the coastal town of Weymouth in Dorset for a week-long getaway on July 15 2024. It was raining heavily as they searched for a parking space for their Lexus IS 200, circa 3pm.
Steve, at the wheel, came across the less-than-top-rated Weymouth Old Town (West) Car Park operated by Parkingeye Limited. They rolled into the open-air car park, and Steve said they began unpacking bags before heading towards the payment machine.
Steve added: “I had to get some bags out and when I went to the machine, it wasn’t up for contactless. It was out of order and no change either.”
Casting an eye over the tariff, it seemed quite steep. For a full week’s stay, it wasn’t hitting the mark for them. The couple, dissatisfied with the parking prices, decided to try their luck elsewhere and soon found a free spot on a nearby street.
They spent a total of six minutes and 12 seconds in the car park. But after returning from their holiday, Steve was taken aback to find a letter from Parkingeye waiting for him.
The letter stated they had been fined £100, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days, for parking. According to Parkingeye, motorists are given a “five-minute consideration period” before charges apply.
Steve added: “I was quite shocked because we hadn’t actually parked there. We had just driven in, walked to the machine and found that we couldn’t actually pay because we didn’t have any cash and it was costly.
“The process had taken six minutes and 12 seconds apparently, which is what we were being fined for.” Assuming it was an error, Steve contested the fine with Popla (Parking on Private Land Appeals), a free, independent service for motorists to appeal against charge notices.
However, Steve received a “long and wordy” response denying his appeal. “I couldn’t figure out how to contact Parkingeye and Popla is a one-step appeal process,” he explained.
“It’s a little embarrassing but I sent an email to various MPs and copied in Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner. I know it’s a bit silly, but I just thought nobody can actually help me with this.”
Steve was concerned that the fine would escalate, be handed over to a debt collector and ultimately land him in court. However, he stood firm and refused to pay.
A spokesperson for Parkingeye said: “The car park at Old Town West in Weymouth is monitored by ANPR camera systems and has 17 prominent and highly visible signs that give motorists clear guidance on how to use the car park responsibly. Motorists are advised that tariffs apply 24/7 and that they have the option to pay by the machine on site or by the evology payment app.
“The motorist parked in the car park for six minutes without paying, this exceeded the five-minute consideration period and therefore led to a parking charge being issued. We would add that our systems show that the machines and the app took normal levels of transactions throughout the day.
“Parkingeye operates a BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their parking charge.
“The motorist did not provide any mitigating circumstances for failing to adhere to the terms and conditions of the car park and their appeal was rejected.
“The charge was also upheld by Popla, the independent appeals service. Despite this, we will cancel the charge as a gesture of goodwill.
“We would strongly urge all motorists to pay the appropriate tariff if they exceed the five-minute consideration period, which was introduced as part of the British Parking Association and International Parking Community joint code of practice.”
