Disabled woman given parking fine - despite displaying ticket and leaving 20 minutes early

Rachel Bee, from South Thoresby, parked her Chrysler in Eastgate car park, operated by Euro Car Parks, on February 13 and paid £1 to park at 3.47pm for one hour.

But despite displaying the ticket in her windscreen, and leaving at 4.32pm – 15 minutes before her allotted time ran out – she was soon issued with a parking fine for "no valid pay and display/permit purchased”, ordering her to pay £100 fine.

Rachel said: “I always pay for my parking and go by the rules. Luckily I found the ticket was still in my car so I sent it off to them proving that I have paid, but they didn’t listen and I keep getting letters ordering me to pay.

"But I’ve done nothing wrong and I’m not paying the fine, I won’t be bullied.”

Rachel said that she would park in Eastgate because, as she is disabled with a spinal condition and possible Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, it is the most convenient for her to park in to visit local stores, including Wilko’s, but now she refuses to park here again for fear of being fined again.

As a result her shopping trips will be much more inconvenient and difficult for her.

"I know a lot of my friends have boycotted this car park now and I don’t blame them – if you pay for parking and get fined anyway, what’s the point?” she said.

Euro Car Parks has been approached for comment on a number of occasions by the Louth Leader, including two emails and several telephone requests.

But calls to the phone number for enquiries listed at www.eurocarparks.com/ are met with an option to pay Parking Charge Notice (PCN), which is then put through to an automated message only accessed by entering a PCN reference number, and the message stated “enquiries relating to charges can only be made in writing with no exceptions”.

The second option is for season tickets and contracts, which gives an email address for businesses to contact.

According to moneynerd.co.uk, Euro Car Parks fines are issued by a private company and are not enforceable by law, unlike Penalty Charge Notices from local authorities or the police.

You can appeal a Euro Car Parks fine, and they must provide a 10-minute grace period as a member of the British Parking Association (BPA).

This is not the first time that Euro Car Parks has been criticised for what motorists described as unfair fines, as in May 2022, Andy Amis contacted the Leader to say that he parked in the car park on Eastgate and tried for 12 minutes to pay but eventually gave up and parked elsewhere – only to be hit with a £60 fee.

Ann Marie Whitaker, also contacted the Leader to report a similar issue as when she parked in the Eastgate car park, she made five attempts to pay but the machine wasn’t working, so also received a fine of £100.

A spokesman for Lincolnshire County Council, which operates Lincolnshire Trading Standards, urged anyone who believes that a company is operating in an "unlawful” manner to report the issue to Citizen’s Advice, who will then pass the report on for investigation.

"If anyone thinks a business is acting in a way that they shouldn't or is unlawful, please report this through the Citizens Advice consumer service,” they said.

"Reports to the service are shared with Trading Standards for us to investigate."

Visit www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer or call free on 0808 223 1133.