A driver has been slapped with a £100 fine after stopping in the UKPS-operated car park on when he needed to be sick following stomach surgery.
Dave Knight is one of numerous motorists who have been caught out at the site, which requires vehicles to have a registered permit.
Drivers in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, are being hit with £100 charges for briefly entering a private car park, with many claiming inadequate signage is to blame.
Knight, 50, told the BBC his appeal was rejected because his brother left the vehicle to fetch some water, meaning he was deemed to have "parked" there.
Drivers in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, are being hit with £100 charges for briefly entering a private car park
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"That [the council signage] is green and yellow, and the board's about 10ft by 5ft. And you've got this which is a little 1ft square sign and the print is so small," he said.
Martin Leighton, 41, from Beeston faced a similar situation in March when he unknowingly entered the car park for just 70 seconds to drop off his sister and perform a U-turn.
The 41-year-old said he would have turned around on the road but was unable to due to vehicles behind him.
"If I had been parked up, if I left my vehicle and completely ignored the legislation, I can understand them being angry and invoicing me," he said.
"But if it's someone just turning around then I don't think that warrants a £100 fine."
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Both men have insisted that the operation violates the private parking sector's Code of Practice - introduced in October 2024 - which requires signs to be "sufficiently large to be visible from a distance and legible on approach".
However, the International Parking Community told the BBC these rules on signage are not retrospective and will not be enforced until the end of 2026.
UKPS insists it has "always operated within the letter and spirit of the code" and manages the car park "fairly", claiming that its signage "complied with parking industry regulations".
Leighton has now taken to flagging down cars and posting videos on social media to prevent others from entering the car park, receiving thousands of views online to raise awareness.
Both men have paid their charges but continue to warn others about the permit-only requirement (Stock)
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"I don't want little old ladies to turn around in that car park and get fined for someone sat watching a camera," Leighton said.
Both men have paid their charges but continue to warn others about the permit-only requirement.
Derek Millard-Smith, a specialist lawyer in the UK parking sector, explained that parking on private land is generally governed by contract law.
He described PCNs as "a contractual debt" that could ultimately be pursued through civil courts, potentially resulting in a County Court Judgement affecting credit ratings.
