A mum says she’s been left with a £100 parking fine she can’t afford to pay, despite showing proof that she had bought a ticket.
Rosie Welch paid £1.40 for an hour-long stay at a car park in Colchester, Essex, but in the end only stayed for 15-minutes.
Days later, Rosie was sent a £100 parking charge after failing to put her registration into the machine.
Rosie, 41, insists she did put her number into the machine and says she’s sent proof that she had paid for a ticket but that she was told she had been in ‘breach of contract’ and the charge stands.
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Rosie said: "Despite paying for a short parking stay, we’ve been left with threatening letters talking about debt recovery and court proceedings.
"I have nowhere else to turn.
"I even took it to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and they said to write to my MP. I haven’t got £100, I don’t have that money.
"If it came to it and they took us to court, I would have to go to court as I can’t physically pay it."
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The firm agreed to reduce the fee to a £20 administration charge, but because Rosie decided to appeal with the Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA) the fine has since gone back to £100.
POPLA has rejected Rosie's appeal and told her that although she 'demonstrated the intention to make a valid payment', she didn't make one.
POPLA said: "While I appreciate that the appellant has demonstrated the intention to make a valid payment, the fact remains that they did not.
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"By failing to enter the full and correct vehicle registration, the parking ticket is invalid for the appellant’s vehicle to park."
However, Rosie says she did put her registration in so she shouldn't be fined.
She said: "My ticket only has the first two letters of my number plate on it, so the company said therefore that’s a ‘gross keying error’, a breach of contract and I have to pay a £100 fine.
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"There was nowhere on the parking machine which said you have to put your full registration number in and nothing on any of the signs in the car park.
"I can’t prove I didn’t put the whole thing in, but I could prove I had purchased a ticket for the same time my car was in the car park.
"I can only think the machine must have had a printer fault."
Claire Reid