A former soldier was given a fine of £60 for a six-minute stay at a private car park in Wirral.
Darren Burns, 28, had driven into the GCP car park on Argyle Street in Birkenhead and waited in the queue for the ticket machine.
Once he realised the meter did not take cash and card payments could only be made over the phone - which he did not have on him at the time - he left thinking nothing more of it.
But he was shocked when a bill was sent to his home in Wallasey stating he had spent six minutes, from 1.08pm to 1.14pm on April 14, in the car park without paying and was now to be charged £60.
Father-in-law, Graham Conroy, 58, stepped in to help and told the ECHO: "I felt awful for Darren, he is an ex-soldier and it has been very stressful so I said I would help him appeal it.
Have you had a parking nightmare? Email rebecca.koncienzcy@reachplc.com
"He had only been there that long because there was a queue at the meter and had then realised it only took cash and card payment were taken over the phone - he didn't have a working phone at the time, so he left.
"I appealed to ParkingEye who run the car park and explained the congestion at the meter and the cash and card situation.
"The response I got was like a template letter basically saying the meter was working and you didn't buy a ticket - they hadn't even read my appeal, they didn't address any of my points."
He added: "There should be a reasonable amount of time when you enter a car park to decide if you want to stay without being sent a fine - £60 is a lot of money."
A ParkingEye spokesperson said: "The motorist used the car park without paying and as a consequence he was sent a parking charge notice. All motorists are entitled to appeal via POPLA, the independent body which reviews all cases.
"The car park has 10 prominent signs throughout clearly stating that motorists need to pay for parking, as well as information on all payment methods.
"We encourage all motorists to use the parking facilities responsibly and to read the signs before deciding if they wish to park."
Private parking firms have no power to issue fines - instead of fining drivers, they are technically issuing invoices for an alleged breach of contract.
This means the private firm can’t send bailiffs to recover the money from you – they will need to take you to court to enforce the notice. This also gives the driver a lot more leeway to appeal against the ticket if they think that the ticket is unfair or the charge is too high.
Private parking firms also have other restrictions – for example, unlike a council or local authority, they have no right to clamp or tow your vehicle (and they could be fined up to £5,000 if they do).
