A GRAN has slammed car park bosses after she was charged a whopping £170 for staying 65 seconds too long.
Angela Jones, 60, said that she was forced to ask a friend to help her pay the fine which left her feeling “humiliated”.
The 60-year-old parked her Nissan Juke in Kings Heath High Street car park, Birmingham, but was unsure about how to pay for her spot.
A fellow motorist told her that she needed to download an app to pay, but Angela quickly deleted it from her phone as she was concerned that it could be a scam.
QR scams have become increasingly common in the UK, with crooks using fake codes to lead drivers to dodgy websites.
Once drivers enter their payment details, the criminals then drain their accounts.
Angela left the car park at 15:29:50, believing that she was still within the free five minute parking period.
However, unbeknownst to her, she had overstayed by 65 seconds, leading her to be slapped with a £100 fine.
She appealed to Parking Charge Collections Ltd (PCC) but had her appeal rejected.
That launched a legal battle which almost “finished” Angela “off”, as she was already struggling to pay her bills despite working three jobs.
Sadly, her plea was rejected a second time after she did not correctly verify her email address with the IAS.
After receiving a letter from solicitors acting on behalf of PCC demanding payment, Angela said she felt “intimidated” to pay up.
Angela, who has five grown-up children and one granddaughter, said: “It affected my mental health greatly and left me in the position where I was so scared that I paid it before any legal action was taken.
“I was waking up in the night, terrified there would be bailiffs knocking at me door.
“I had to borrow the money from a friend which was humiliating.”
Eventually, Angela contacted her MP Bradley Thomas who contacted the trade association for private parking firms, the International Parking Community (IPC).
After several weeks of letters being exchanged, Angela’s fine was eventually cancelled but, weeks on, she is still waiting for a refund.
In light of the events, IPC said it is working to ensure private car parks do not hand out similar fines.
When asked for comment about the incident, PCC said: “Parking Charge Collections Ltd (PCC) has reviewed and resolved a parking charge issued to a motorist who remained on-site for 6 minutes and 5 seconds without paying the tariff.
“The charge was originally issued in compliance with the Code of Practice, which includes a 5-minute consideration period for drivers.
“The motorist submitted an appeal, explaining that they had encountered difficulties when attempting to pay and had chosen to leave promptly to park elsewhere.
“While the appeal was not upheld due to a lack of supporting evidence, the motorist was given the opportunity to escalate the matter to an independent adjudicator (IAS).
“Unfortunately, they did not take this step.
“Had they done so, it is likely that a further review would have resulted in the charge being cancelled.
“On 10 January 2025, the motorist’s MP contacted the International Parking Community (IPC), which manages the Approved Operator Scheme to which PCC is a member.
“Following further review, on 13 January 2025, PCC cancelled the charge.
“Later that day, the motorist accessed their account online and made payment despite being notified on screen that the case had been closed.
“This payment was identified on 17 January 2025 and refunded to the motorist’s debit card.
“It is often the case that a parking charge is issued based on the information we are aware of at the time and is reconsidered during the appeals process.
“PCC remains committed to fair and consistent enforcement in line with the industry Code of Practice.
“We would encourage all motorists to follow the process of appealing any charge which they believe should not have been issued or there are mitigating circumstances.
“It is always important to provide any evidence which may support them.”
It comes as a woman revealed how she was scammed out of £100s at a car park after scanning a fake QR code.
In a video posted to social media, the duped car owner picked at a QR code sticker over the top of the real QR code.
[boxout headline=”Quishing: QR Code Scams” featured-image=”33011194″ intro=”QR code scams are becoming increasingly common in the UK.”]What are QR code scams?
QR scams are often referred to as as “quishing”.
They involve scammers placing fake codes on car park signs and in shops, which lead shoppers to fake websites.
Then, shoppers are encouraged to enter their payment details.
This allows the crooks to drain hundreds of pounds from your account.
One driver thought he was being charged 90p before noticing that he had been automatically subscribed to a recurring £39 payment.
AVOID SCAMS
If you see a QR code in a public place, there are some steps that you can take to avoid getting scammed.
- Signs of tampering: Check to see if a code looks as though it has been placed over the original. The code stuck onto the sign is likely to be fake.
- Checking the URL: If the URL that the QR code takes you to doesn’t match the one on the parking sign, it’s probably fake.
- Use the official app: Using the official app for the car park or store will help you pay the company directly. This stops a scammer from intercepting your money.
