Woman handed huge £100 parking fine - even though 'car park machine didn't work'

16 February 2024 , 12:34

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Ratna Patel was fined for using the car park (Image: Nottingham Post)

A woman has been slapped with a £100 fine at a car park, even though she claimed the ticket machine was out of order.

Ratna Patel used the Upper Parliament Street Car Park in Nottingham's city centre on November 13 last year. When she came to pay, she said the machine was broken. She said a parking attendant from Euro Car Parks at the site told her to go home and pay online. However, the website wouldn't accept her code or car registration details to pay the £5 fee.

Calling the fine "unfair", Mrs Patel said: "I've parked there before and never had any issues. It's ridiculous when I'm trying to talk to them, it's their machine that was the problem.

"Attendants told me I was not the first one. It's not right, we are the customers trying to use the car park. It's the injustice of it that annoys me, we're already in difficult times."

She added she provided proof of the issue but was still given a £100 fine. Since then, she's found it hard to contact anyone at the company. She has since paid for the fine amid fears it could affect her credit score.

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She told NottinghamLive: "I'm trying to communicate with them but they're making it so difficult. There's no one to talk to.

"That's 20 times more than I should've paid," she said. "It's just wrong any which way you look at it."

Euro Car Parks has been contacted by the Mirror for comment.

Joel Moore