Getting a parking ticket can really ruin your day, can't it? One minute you're having a whale of a time, parking illegally, the next minute you're whacked with a fine.
If you're quick enough and pay within 28 days, you can get 50 percent knocked off, which is something, I suppose. One thing you definitely shouldn't do is ignore it.
This is a lesson that 28-year-old Carly Mackie has learned the hard way, after she has racked up £24,500 in parking fines by ignoring, almost daily, tickets while being parked outside her mum's house without a permit.
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Carly, wrongly, believed that because it was issued by a private firm they couldn't be enforced.
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Carly believed that she was entitled to park her Mini in the spot in front of her family's garage. The company which issues the fines said Carly had not challenged any of the tickets and that she could not leave her car there without a permit.
After a 16-month stand-off between Carly and the firm, she was initially handed a £18,5000 fine, which she also refused to pay, before it went to court and it was ruled that she must pay £24,500. There is also interest of eight per cent a year added to this until it's paid.
Lawyers are now warning this could 'open the floodgates' for other private companies to do the same.
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The Dundee garages where Carly parked. Credit: SWNS
Debt Recovery Plus Ltd, which acted on behalf of the parking company, said: "This is understood to be the highest value parking charge case ever awarded in the United Kingdom.
"As some people in Scotland believe that parking charges are unenforceable (despite the landmark 2015 Supreme Court judgement ruling in favour of a parking operator) a record number of court cases are now being pursued in Scotland.
"We are happy to work with any Scottish motorist experiencing financial difficulties who would like to make a payment arrangement to settle historic charges before court action is taken."
Sheriff George Way said that the fines formed a 'valid contract'. He explained: "She admits she parked without a permit, on the property that the pursuers were contracted to protect.
"She had no better right or title to do so than any other interloper or stranger no matter what her belief might be."
Before saying she had 'entirely misdirected herself' on the law and 'contractual chain' in this case.
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According to the Daily Mail, in the past, lawyers have quietly told clients that it's possible to ignore penalties from private firms, as no one in Scotland had ever been taken to court for refusing to pay up.
Sheriff Way added: "She knew perfectly well what the signs displayed and that she was parking in breach of the conditions.
"She stated that (effectively a protest position) that parking charges were illegal and unenforceable in Scotland and that she could park where she liked as her father's guest.
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"The defender is not the tenant. The defender's car was an additional burden on the parking facilities and she was the same as any other interloper.
"She was offered a permit by the factors (at a reasonable charge, I think) but she refused on principle."
Carly refused to pay for a parking permit for a space nearby, which would have cost her £40 a month - a decision I'll bet she's now heavily regretting.
Featured Image Credit: SWNS