Parking fine sours lunch for mother
AWOMAN who had just been for a cancer treatment check-up has spoken about Sefton Council’s “appalling response” when she called them about a parking fine she had wrongly been given.
Karen James, 55, from Southport, parked her car by Eighty Eight Bar on Lord Street last week with the intention of getting lunch at the Vincent Hotel with her daughter.
She said it was meant to be a day of celebrating as she had finally finished her radiotherapy treatment, having been through both skin and breast cancer.
When she realised she had no change for parking, she spent about 10 minutes downloading the parking app advertised on the nearest parking meter.
She Sh purchased h d a two-hour h ticket ik on the app at a cost of £3.40. When the two women returned to the car they found a parking fine had been issued.
Karen said: “I’m more disturbed at the time more than anything, my ticket confirmation email says I bought the ticket at 12.17, the ticket says my car was observed between 12.27 and 12.33, that to me means I’ve probably been watched leaving the car, hobbling away.
“I’ve got a special shoe on my foot, I’ve only started walking again recently having been on crutches for three months from surgery.”
Karen called Sefton Council to dispute the parking fine, telling them she had proof that she had purchased the ticket. The response she got was “totally unhelpful”.
She said: “They just kept saying either pay it or appeal it, it was robotic, no sympathy whatsoever. I said I had the email to prove it but they didn’t want to know. No compromise at all, No explanation. When we asked for a manager, she just kept saying they’ll say the same thing to you.
“Today was meant to be a day of celebrating and it’s just horrible to be treated like that.”
Sefton Council have been made aware of the situation and are looking into Karen’s case.