Driver, 21, fined massive £11,000 by parking firm over the pay in five minutes rule
A 21-year-old woman has been fined more £11,000 for failing to buy a parking ticket within five minutes of pulling into her space.
A 21-year-old woman has been fined more £11,000 for failing to buy a parking ticket within five minutes of pulling into her space.
Hannah Robinson, of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, was slapped with the £11,390 bill by Excel Parking after amassing nearly 70 fines in a car park in nearby Darlington.
She tried to appeal them but received a letter in February last year ordering her to the charges racked up since 2021 - £100 for each of her 67 fines, plus a £70 debt collection fee for each one.
It was one of hundreds of letters and phone calls she received demanding her to pay the parking charge notices (PCNs) over the companys bizarre five-minute rule.
The parking firm eventually took her to court to try to compel her to pay some of the fines - but its claim was dismissed and it was ordered to pay £10,240.10 in costs to charity.
She told the BBC she was relieved the hearing was over: It has been extremely stressful and frustrating; I constantly worried what letters I was receiving or who was going to knock at the door after the threats.
I feel happy that they [Excel Parking] are getting a taste of what it felt like for me.
It follows widespread fury over car parks run by Excel Parking in Derby - where drivers have also been charged £100 for taking more than five minutes to pay for their ticket. Excel plans to appeal the judgement on Ms Robinsons case.
Hannah Robinson (pictured), of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, was slapped with the £11,390 bill by Excel Parking after amassing nearly 70 fines in a car park in nearby Darlington
She tried to appeal them but received a letter (pictured) in February last year ordering her to the charges - £100 for each of her 67 fines, plus a £70 debt collection fee for each one
The parking firm eventually took her to court to try to compel her to pay some of the fines - but its claim was dismissed and it was ordered to pay £10,240.10 in costs to charity
Ms Robinsons ordeal began in June 2021, when she started leaving her BMW in the 650-space, multi-storey car park at Feethams Leisure shopping complex in Darlington.
Regularly using the car park to go to work at a restaurant above it, she said she always paid the required fee, of up to £8.50 a day - but issues with mobile signal and the payment app meant she did not always make it within the five-minute window.
She said: I started getting a couple of fines and I was young and had just started driving so I would pay them because I was scared.
But she kept using the car park as it was just the safest option, given the unsociable, late hours she worked, finishing at midnight or 1am.
There was a lift directly up to her workplace at a local steakhouse from the car park, which made her feel safer as a young woman walking around alone at night.
She decided to start appealing the fines in late 2022 but received no word back from Excel, even after begging to speak to them, across a huge number of emails, so the issue could be sorted.
The 21-year-old eventually received a letter in February 2024 totalling the final astonishing sum the parking firm wanted her to pay - and she just immediately broke down.
The young womans grandmother Adrienne Atkin was shocked: I couldnt believe the amount and I couldnt believe a company could do that.
She decided to start appealing the fines in late 2022 but received no word back from Excel, even after begging to speak to them, across a huge number of emails, so the issue could be sorted
It was one of hundreds of letters (pictured) and phone calls she received demanding her to pay the parking charge notices (PCNs) over the companys bizarre five-minute rule
She began doing everything she could to help her granddaughter, describing the workload of keeping up with it all as like a full-time job.
Ms Atkin was devastated to see the effect it was having on her granddaughter, who began to stay in her room a lot and became jumpy every time the phone rang, fearful it was Excel contacting her.
Eventually, Ms Robinson received a court claim asking her to pay two of the fines, plus the debt collection fee for each, along with various other costs.
Excel Parking later applied to change this claim, wishing to pursue 11 fines instead.
But District Judge Janine Richards dismissed both this claim and the original one, saying the firms conduct was unreasonable and out of the norm and ordering it to pay Ms Robinsons costs.
The young woman had free legal representation in court - but the judge made a pro bono costs order, compelling Excel Parking to pay the Access to Justice Foundation an amount equivalent to what her lawyers spent defending her.
Following the very tense hearing on March 26, Ms Robinson said: I feel relieved and a massive weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
She said she felt distressed by how she had been treated by Excel and hoped the judgement on her case would help prevent other people being similarly affected.
Ms Robinsons ordeal began in June 2021, when she started using the car park at the Feethams Leisure shopping complex in Darlington (pictured)
She thanked her solicitors Luke Harrison and Anya Prasad, of firm Keidan Harrison.
Excel Parking told the BBC it did not want to comment as it planned to appeal the judgement.
It comes after a similar case in Derby at the end of last year, which saw a fitness model fined more than £1900 after she took more then five minutes to pay for her parking tickets.
Rosey Hudson, a professional bodybuilder and make-up artist from Derby, left her car in the Copeland Street car park in February 2023 before heading into work as usual.
She claimed there was no ticket machine in operation and the reception in the area was poor, so she had to walk a little way before buying her daily ticket via the app.
But she was horrified to then receive ten Parking Charge Notices (PCN) because she had allegedly surpassed the five-minute payment rule time.
When contacted by MailOnline, Excel Parking, who run the site, said she was the author of her own misfortune as she had breached the rules.
The Bikini Athletic Pro Qualifier 2023 winner said at the time, in November last year, that she would take the operator to court in an attempt to not have to pay the fines, as she branded them utterly unreasonable.
Eventually, Ms Robinson (pictured) received a court claim asking her to pay two of the fines, plus the debt collection fee for each, along with various other costs
Hannah Robinsons letter of claim, received from Excel Parking
But the operator eventually dropped its court claim against her in mid-December.
A spokesperson for Excel Parking said of Ms Hudsons case at the time said: The signage at the car park made it clear that it was "Pay on Entry" and that there was a maximum period of five minutes to purchase the parking tariff.
This is one of the specific terms and conditions for use of the car park. It is the drivers responsibility to read and understand the terms.
It seems that Miss Hudson is the author of her own misfortune.
Excel Parking was contacted for comment.