'Daylight robbery' as taxi driver fined £170 for 'turning around' in car park

13 March 2024 , 09:32

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Narinder Singh of Radcliffe-on-Trent, pictured in his taxi (Image: Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)

A taxi driver has been slapped with a £170 fine for what he claims was simply 'turning around' in a car park - branding the penalty as 'daylight robbery'.

Nerinder Singh, who lives in Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, was waiting for a job in Lambley when he pulled into the parking spaces in front of Glow UV Tanning Studio on Davies Road in West Bridgford. He says he only used the space to turn his car around and stopped briefly to read the long list of parking restrictions. But a month later, he received a letter telling him he owed Nforce Parking £100.

Mr Singh said: "Excuse my language but I'm well ****** off. It's not just happening to me. It's happening to hundreds of people. These are unscrupulous parking companies. They've got to be to be doing this. It's daylight robbery." This incident, which happened on January 21, was the second time in just a few months that Mr Singh, 55, had been fined for parking. The first time, outside the DG Cars premises on Queens Road in the city centre, he says he was only parked for about 25 seconds.

On this occasion, he was looking for a spot to wait before heading to his next job. Having once owned a business in West Bridgford, he thought the parking spaces outside the shops on Davies Road would be a good place to stop, reports Nottinghamshire Live. However, when he arrived, Mr Singh noticed new cameras and signs were up since his last visit. These signs, which he described as "10 paragraphs" long, warned that no parking was allowed.

The parking spaces outside Glow in Davies Road, West Bridgford (Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)

He left his taxi for "three or four minutes" to read the cautionary signage, hoping to avoid any fines. But to his shock, less than 28 days later, he received a £100 fine, which was £40 more than his previous one. He appealed this time, instead of paying promptly like before. Nevertheless, his appeal got rejected, and the fine escalated to £170 due to late payment. Adding to his dismay, most shops at the location were closed, considering it was 4.51pm on a Sunday.

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Nforce Parking Management, who issued the fine, have now threatened Mr Singh with debt collectors if he doesn't pay. He worries he will be forced to pay up as he has another trip abroad looming. Moreover, he wants to caution others about this risk. Nforce Parking Management has been approached for comment.

Rom Preston-Ellis