How mum fought back to beat £170 Birmingham car park fine which left her 'in tears'
A mum-of-five has told how she fought back to get a £170 car parking fine cancelled. Angela Jones was fined the eye-watering sum after parking her vehicle at Kings Heath High Street Car Park...for just six minutes.
The 60-year-old briefly stopped at the site last October while she worked out how to pay. Angela, from Alvechurch, claimed she left after finding the payment machine broken.
She also decided against using a mobile parking app to pay over concerns. Despite leaving just 60 seconds after the five-minute grace period permitted at private car parks, Angela received a £100 fine in the post.
READ MORE: Tearful mum fined £170 for six-minute stay at Kings Heath car park
She lodged an appeal with Parking Charge Collections Ltd, which operates the site, but it was rejected. Angela, who said she couldn't afford to pay, felt helpless as she watched the bill spiral into £170 as the months ticked on.
The veterinary receptionist previously told BirminghamLive that her plight left her in floods of tears. Fearing bailiffs would turn up at her front door, she felt forced into borrowing money to pay the fine earlier this month.
Angela has since revealed how she fought back to beat the huge debt. "I appealed to Parking Charge Collections but it was rejected as I had stayed in the car park for six minutes," she said.
"I then took my appeal to the Independent Appeals Service for a second time. When I received a final demand for payment of £170, I logged back in to my account on the IAS and found my appeal had been closed as they stated I had not verified my email address.
"I contacted the agency that was chasing the payment of £170 and they told me that, because my appeal had been rejected due to me not confirming my email address, I had to pay the fine.
"I explained I was not avoiding paying for parking, that I left as soon as I realised I couldn't pay, and I could not afford to pay such an extortionate fine."
Angela decided to contact her MP, Bromsgrove's Bradley Thomas, around the time she received a letter from solicitors on behalf of the parking firm. The fine was quickly dropped, and Angela was told she would receive a full refund shortly after Mr Thomas' intervention.
"It shouldn't have had to go that far," added the mum who said she will only be happy once the refund hits her account. "It's not right. It was affecting my mental health greatly.
"I think it's wrong. The rules really need looking at. What if you can't get a signal or something? Some car parks are bigger than others too.
"I bet it's elderly people, who probably aren't as mobile, who will be affected by this the most."
Private parking companies have recently pledged to update their code of conduct after a similar case in which legal action was launched against a driver for taking more than five minutes to pay. Two industry bodies, representing the sector, announced they had established a panel to revise the code to ensure it “protects genuine motorists who have difficulty making prompt payment on entry”.
International Parking Community, the trade association for parking firms, confirmed last week that a full refund had been issued to Angela. A spokesperson said: "We're pleased this case has resolved itself with the cancellation of the parking charge and a full refund.
"We strongly encourage anyone dissatisfied with an operator’s appeal decision to escalate their case to the independent adjudicator.”