The Daily Mail
A 71-year-old motorist has won a five-year legal battle with a major parking firm over a £1 ticket that he had already paid for.
Nigel Richardson took on Euro Car Parks after he was relentlessly pursued over the alleged £1 debt – even after supplying the firm with the receipt proving he had paid the correct fare at the time.
Mr Richardson, from Rearsby, Leicestershire, had parked his VW Golf in Syston, Leicestershire, in 2020 but had no change on him and the card payment machines were not working.
He then tried using the mobile phone app – but received no notification to say the payment had been successful, so feared it had not gone through.
Honest Mr Richardson wrote to the firm to explain what had happened and that he might owe them £1 – but they responded by immediately fining him £100.
He later found the receipt for his online transaction in his junk email folder and sent it to the firm as proof of payment.
But over the next four years debt collection companies started sending him letters threatening court action and the fine increased to £230.
Semi-retired Mr Richardson refused to back down and ended up opposing a barrister while representing himself at Leicester County Court on July 11.
He applied for £2,480 over the ordeal but was ultimately awarded £200 in compensation by a judge who agreed he had been unfairly fined and had no debt to pay.
However, after paying court costs of £180, Mr Richardson is only £20 better off following the five year ordeal but said: ‘A win is a win’.
Mr Richardson continued: ‘The simple thing would have been to just pay the fine, but I knew I had done nothing wrong.
‘I made every effort to buy a ticket but their machines weren’t accepting card payments and I wasn’t going to be bullied into paying the fine.
‘When I used the app I had a notification the money had come out. I even tried to call a number to do it over the phone but that didn’t work either.
‘I went to the shop to try and get change but they were closed early on a Wednesday, so I didn’t know what more I could do.
‘I know what these companies can be like so I even contacted them to explain what happened and to see if I could pay the £1 if the app hadn’t worked.
‘But the next thing I know a fine comes through and then you have to start an appeals process.
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