Cabbie fined for ‘turning around’ in front of shop
HE SAYS HE GOT OUT BRIEFLY TO READ WARNING SIGN AND THEN DROVE OFF – BUT LATER RECEIVED A £100 CHARGE
A NOTTINGHAM taxi driver who says he has been fined £170 after “turning around” in the car park of a row of shops says it is “daylight robbery”.
Nerinder Singh, from Radcliffeon-trent, was in West Bridgford waiting to go to a job in Lambley when he pulled into the parking spaces in front of Glow UV Tanning Studio on Davies Road.
He used the space to turn his car around, he says – stopping briefly in the meantime to read the “essay” of parking restrictions on the notice board. But a month later, a letter came through the post informing him that 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. It’s daylight robbery.”
The incident, which happened on January 21, ended up being the second time in a matter of months that Mr Singh, 55, had been fined for parking.
On the first occasion – outside the DG Cars premises on Queen’s Road in the city centre – he says he was only in the parking spot for around 25 seconds. On the latest occasion, he was looking for a spot to wait before heading to his next job. Having
previously owned a business in West Bridgford, he saw the parking spaces outside the shops on Davies
Road as a potential stopping point.
But when he got there, he noticed that a camera and notices had been installed since his last visit. The signs – which Mr Singh described as including “10 paragraphs” of words – advised that no parking was allowed.
Mr Singh stepped out of his taxi for “three or four minutes” to read the signs before exiting – specifically to avoid a fine. But less than 28 days later he was shocked to see he’d been charged £100 – £40 more than his previous one.
While the previous time he paid immediately, having been going on holiday a few days after the fine came through, he appealed against the latest one.
But his appeal was rejected and in the meantime the fine had increased to £170 due to delayed payment.
Mr Singh says the fact that shops were shut at the time – the incident happened at 4.51pm on a Sunday – adds insult to injury.
Nforce Parking Management have now threatened Mr Singh with debt collectors if he doesn’t pay.
With another trip abroad in the near future, he fears he will have to cough up – but wanted to warn others that they could end up in a similar situation if they are not careful.
Nforce Parking Management was contacted for comment but had not responded before this edition was published.