Driver fined £170 for six-minute stay in car park while she looked for ‘pay and display’
1/20/2025, 8:51:35 PM
A mother-of-five was fined £170 for an overstay after spending just six minutes in a car park. Angela Jones, 60, briefly pulled into Kings Heath High Street car park, in Birmingham, in October last year and stayed for six minutes while she worked out how to pay. Ms Jones, from Alvechurch, Worcestershire, claimed the pay-and-display machine was broken and decided against using a mobile phone app after being made aware of scams involving fake QR codes. With little choice but to find another car park, Ms Jones left the site after six minutes – just 60 seconds longer than the five-minute grace period permitted. After failing to pay the parking fee within the allotted time, Ms Jones received a fine from Parking Charge Collections Ltd – the company which manages the site. She lodged an appeal but after it was rejected, the fine spiralled to a total of £170. The veterinary receptionist told Birmingham Live: “It brought me so much stress – I couldn’t afford it. “The parking company rejected my appeal because I was outside the five-minute period. There’s just not enough time. It’s not right that you only have that long to park up, download an app and get back...