A parking company has been forced to fork out thousands of pounds after it demanded £11,000 from a "scared" 21-year-old driver as the two parties locked horns over a controversial rule.
Excel Parking is known to slap unwitting drivers with £100 fines if they take any longer than five minutes to pay.
After catching a driver from Stockton-on-Tees out, the management firm took 21-year-old Hannah Robinson to court for multiple parking charge notices (PCNs).
Before the court date, Robinson was showered with letters demanding payment, in addition to relentless phone calls.
A parking company has been forced to fork out thousands after it demanded £11,000 from a "scared" 21-year-old driver
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"Following the court hearing I feel relieved and a massive weight has lifted from my shoulders," Robinson told the BBC.
Opening up on her emotional turmoil as a result of the ordeal, she added: "It has been extremely stressful and frustrating; I constantly worried what letters I was receiving or who was going to knock at the door after the threats."
Although Robinson acquired free representation in court, the judge issued a pro bono costs order.
As a result, the firm will have to shell out £10,240.10 to the charity Access to Justice Foundation.
"I feel happy that they [Excel Parking] are getting a taste of what it felt like for me," Robinson added.
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After the issues began to arise in 2021 when she started to park at Darlington's Feethams Leisure car park, she insisted that she paid off any outstanding fines because she was "scared".
"I started getting a couple of fines, and I was young and had just started driving, so I would pay them because I was scared," Robinson ceded.
She explained that she continued using the car park because she deemed it to be the safest one for her, given she worked unsociable hours - often late at night.
By the close of 2022, she began launching appeals against the charges, even "begging to speak to" the parking company.
She lamented: "I've got threads and threads of nobody wanting to communicate with me, and I was asking for so much help to try and sort this out."
Excel Parking is known to slap unwitting drivers with £100 fines if they take any longer than five minutes to pay (Stock)
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Finally, in February 2024, the company requested her to pay 67 charges - each charge amounting to £100, in addition to a £70 debt collection fee, causing the total to come to £11,390.
Following an arduous back-and-forth between the 21-year-old and the firm, District Judge Janine Richards dismissed the original claim, as well as a separate application made by Excel Parking to pursue other charges.
After the charges were dropped, Robinson said: "The hearing was very tense but I'm glad the judge saw through them.
"I am upset with the way they have treated me and I hope this stops them going after innocent people."
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