Grabbing a coffee with friends cost me £100... I want to warn others
Woman left raging after parking fine at Costa car park
A motorist has been left outraged after a coffee with pals ended up being a costly experience.
The woman landed a £100 fine after venturing into Linwood’s Costa store for a catch-up.
But the coffee proved expensive after she landed a penalty notice in the post for running over the one-hour time limit on the Pegasus Avenue branch’s car park.
Instead, the one hour 12 minutes the woman spent chatting with pals landed her the hefty charge.
The fuming driver, who asked not to be named, said: “I’m not a regular at Costa, I don’t go often and I definitely won’t be going again.
“An hour is not a long time to spend in a coffee shop and I couldn’t believe it when I found out there was a fine in the post.
“I wasn’t aware that they were so tight on limits with the car park.”
Added the woman: “I just want to warn people that if they go in there and spend more than an hour, that’s what they risk.
“Apparently you have to type your car registration into a tablet they have at the counter to let them know you were in there but nobody pointed that out to me or made it clear you have to do it.”
The woman returned to the store after it emerged she had been fined over the December 31 incident but says staff told her there was nothing they could do about the fine, as the car park is managed by a third party.
Signage at the entrance to the car park warns motorists that parking for more than an hour will attract a £100 penalty.
Bosses at car park management outfit Smart Parking track CCTV images of motorists entering and leaving so they know if they have infringed the one hour limit to issue a penalty.
Neighbouring KFC offers customers a longer 90 minute window to safely use their car park without fear of fines.
The UK Government this week announced measures to clampdown on the activities of private car park management firms.
They moved to announced a package of new measures - set to include a cap on charges - in a bid to protect motorists against “cowboy” firms.
From 2023, companies will only be able to levy a maximum £50 charge in most cases.
Motorists will also be offered a 50 per cent discount if they pay within 14 days and compulsory ten minute grace periods will be introduced as part of the new parking Code of Practice.
Firms who break the rules will be cut off from obtaining details from the DVLA system.
Announcing the move on Monday, Minister for Levelling Up, Neil O‘Brien MP said: “Private firms issue roughly 22,000 parking tickets every day, often adopting a system of misleading and confusing signage, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees designed to extort money from motorists.
“The new Code of Practice will set out a clear vision with the interests of safe motorists at its heart, while cracking down on the worst offenders who put other people in danger and hinder our emergency services from carrying out their duties.”
Incredibly, the British Parking Association, which represents car park operators, said the government crackdown would mean ‘law-abiding’ motorists lose out.
Andrew Pester, BPA Chief Executive said: “We call on government to urgently reconsider its proposals given the unintended consequences for our sector, landowners, and motorists.
“We welcome the Parking (Code of Practice) Act and measures to introduce a single code, standardssetting body, and an independent appeals service. However, for this package of measures to be sustainable, there needs to be an effective deterrent to encourage compliance with parking rules and deter anti-social parking. Without effective parking management, places would become congested and inaccessible.”
Costa were contacted but had failed to comment by the time the Express went to press.