A fuming pensioner who claims he received a £100 penalty despite paying for parking says he'd "rather go to jail" than cough up for the fine. Jamie Jamieson was hit with the ticket during a hospital visit for scans to find out if he has Parkinson’s disease.
The 75-year-old went to a nearby car park and insists he paid £4 by cash for two hours using one of the payment machines there during his visit on Thursday, April 6. However, a few weeks later, on April 25, he received the parking charge - but says he absolutely will not be paying it.
Jamie, of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, said: “I would honestly go to jail on a matter of principle because I won’t be paying this full stop and I’m very adamant. I’ve done 25 years in the Royal Navy, 25 years in GCHQ, I’m not going to pay a £100 fine for the sake of it.
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"It's absolutely crazy. At first I thought it was a scam and I think it’s appalling. Other people should be warned and I think it should be challenged in general."
The charge was issued for his stay at Fountain Street Car Park near the Hull Royal Infirmary. Jamie said he paid for parking around 9.30am after arriving early for his 10am appointment at the hospital - but no longer has the ticket to prove it, reported HullLive.
Jamie already had to cover the cost of driving from his home in Scarborough to the hospital in Hull - almost 50 miles each way. He said there was "enough expense getting there anyway" without getting "clobbered" with a parking fine.
He added: "And who is going to keep a ticket for three weeks? It made me feel like I’ve been scammed. It made me feel like people were sending me a bill without properly looking at all the evidence that supported my case."
The notice from Bank Park, which manages the car park, stated the charge would be reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. However, he said he didn't receive the letter until April 25 - despite it being dated April 17.
Jamie said he had contacted Bank Park via email on April 26 about this discrepancy but had not yet received a reply. He claimed CCTV cameras at the car park will show that he did pay for parking at the machine.
And it seems Jamie is not the only driver who claims to have had a similar experience at that particular car park. In a review on the Just Visits website, one wrote: "Do not park here! Even when you pay for your parking they send fines for failure to pay for parking because their machines failed to print your reg number in full.
"When you appeal proving your payment they then still charge a £15 administration fee for their mistake! Which turns to £100 when not paid within two weeks but they only email this. They don’t follow up with a letter so miss the email like me and get stung anyway!"
On Google reviews, a student nurse, who had forgotten to pay one day, said: "Received my fine stating I had 14 days to pay before it turned into £100. However, the 14 days starts from the date the letter was issued, not the date it was received.
"I received this letter over a week AFTER the fine was issued, meaning I had to pay £100 even though I did not leave it 14 days. Would avoid at all costs."
Bank Park was contacted for comment.
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