A parking firm that tried to get £200 out of a motorist after she took more than five minutes to pay for her spot has been left empty handed – after years of fighting.
Angela Haley, 64, had decided against stopping in her usual Derby car park and instead chose to station her car elsewhere after entering from a different route.
Initially she had issues paying due to the machine being out of service on May 4, 2023, but she eventually managed to pay the £3.20 due over the phone before heading into the city for a couple hours of shopping.
Having followed Excel Parking’s guidelines she believed all was well, until a PCN (Parking Charge Notice) came through her letter box five months later accusing her of parking without payment.
Steadfast Ms Haley appealed the fine, providing proof including confirmation texts, phone calls to the company, as well as a bank account statement showing she made the payment that day. However, the parking firm denied her request.
She then continued to fight against the ticket via the Independent Appeals Service (IAS), described as ‘an alternative dispute resolution service’ for tickets handed out by private firms, adamant she had paid the ticket.
Ms Haley continued to show her payments receipts to both IAS and Elms Legal, who previously represented the parking firm, but then the reason for the fine emerged – she had not paid within a five minute window.
She told MailOnline: ‘I was in a bit of disbelief, I thought well, I know I would never not pay for parking. It’s just not something I’d do.
Angela Haley, 64, had decided against parking in her usual car park and instead chose to station her car in Copeland Street, Derby, after entering the city from a different route (Pictured: Her car entering Copeland Street)
The parking firm attempted to fine her because she didn’t pay her fine within a five minute window (Pictured: Copeland Street)
‘I kept getting letters from them, and I said look here’s my bank statement.
‘I didn’t have a physical ticket because the normal routes of payment, which would have been just to tap my debit card, wasn’t an option on the day.’
‘I kept getting legal letters, and then when I found the receipt on my phone, and emailed them a copy, they said, “Oh, no, that they still want to pursue”.
‘But now then it was because they claimed I didn’t pay within their time period, and I just said, I’m not paying. I’ve paid once I’ve. I’m not paying again.’
She added: ‘It stressed me out to the point where every time any sort of official envelope addressed to me came through the door.
‘But I was also going to fight tooth and nail – I was determined I wasn’t paying it. There was no way I was backing down from this.’
The legal firm then offered her a reduced fine to around £200, whilst also giving her the option to pay in monthly instalments of £17.
‘I didn’t even realise it was that much anyway, so they could offer me whatever they liked. I wasn’t not paying it,’ she added.
‘It stressed me out to the point where every time any sort of official envelope addressed to me came through the door,’ Ms Haley said (Stock image)
‘I just kept writing every time I got a threatening letter I just wrote back and said, “Don’t write to me anymore. Just take me to court”.’
Eventually a small claims court date was set in Sheffield, around 75 miles away from Ms Haley’s home. This combined with clashing events meant she could not attend in person.
However she did send her court bundle, which included an overwhelming amount of documents showing her innocence, and eventually emerged victorious.
And after a year of battling Excel Parking sent a letter to confrim they were discontinuing the claim.
‘You only have to look at Trustpilot and Google Reviews to realise how many people this company is pursuing for fines,’ Ms Haley said.
‘I’m lucky because I’m retired. So I’ve got loads of time in my hands.
‘But I think if I’d have been still working and I used to have a stressful job, I’d have just paid it because I’d have been so stressed out.
‘I think that’s what a lot of people do They terrorise people into thinking they have to pay this money.
Ms Haley sent her court bundle, which included an overwhelming amount of documents showing her innocence, and eventually emerged victorious. (Stock image)
She added: I could have afforded to pay it, it was never about the money it was about the principle.
‘It was the fact that I was able to prove that their paperwork was not relevant to the date I parked that was what really keeping me going.’
Recalling the moment she received the letter from the firm, notifying her they were dropping the issue, she said: ‘Obviously I was relieved. But there’s no we do apologise for any upset or inconvenience.’
‘I do feel terrible for those people who may be in be in a different financial position, or more frightened, people could have a nervous breakdown,’ she added.
A representative from Excel Parking Services said: ‘ELMS Legal Ltd were instructed following the rejection of the Defendant’s appeal by the Independent Appeals Service and in accordance with the terms and conditions in effect at the site at the time of the contravention.
‘Any further details regarding the instruction of the claim and/or its discontinuance are subject to legal privilege.]
A spokesperson from Elms Legal said: ‘ELMS Legal Ltd were instructed by the Claimant following the rejection of the Defendant’s appeal by the Independent Appeals Service and in accordance with the terms and conditions in effect at the site at the time of the contravention.
‘Any further details regarding the instruction of the claim and/or its discontinuance are subject to legal privilege.’
MailOnline has approached IAS for comment.
