Woman racks up £11,000 in separate car parking fines over little known 'five-minute rule'
A UK woman has been left fuming after racking up an eye-watering £11,000 in car parking fines.
21-year-old Hannah Robinson from Darlington, County Durham, was left horrified after she received a bill totalling £11,300 from Feethams multi-story carpark near to her job at a local steakhouse.
Hannah would pay the daily rate of £8.50 to park up at the facility and has the tickets to prove it - with the fines coming from a little known rule which she has branded 'unfair'.
According to Excel Parking Services, which runs the carpark, they claim Hannah had repeatedly failed to buy a ticket within the first five minutes of arriving, which led to her incurring the fines.
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Excel explained that the 'five-minute' rule was due to drivers taking advantage and using the carpark as a place to drop people off without paying, however Hannah thinks the charge is 'ridiculous'.
Explaining that she'd often spend longer than five minutes attempting to pay due to poor connection in the area, she said: "They just don't care."
Excel claims that Hannah has incurred 67 fines since March 2021 for failing to pay within the first five minutes of parking up. Hannah says is down to the car park's app and nearby cash machines not working 'nine out of ten times'.
"I've done absolutely everything I can to get in touch with Excel but they don’t respond," she continued.
"The ticket machines are often broken so I pay online but the internet coverage is terrible so if often takes longer to access the app.
"All this just to park my car to come to work."
Hannah went on to add that she'd emailed Excel multiple times in an attempt to explain the situation but felt she had been 'ignored'.
"I’ve tried and practically begged to speak to someone about this as I knew I was going get fined but I’ve just been ignored," she said.
“I have sent tonnes of emails but then I got a letter adding them all up from 2021 for the times I couldn’t pay within five minutes and billed me.
"It is 3G in that car park and I feel sorry for people with babies or disabilities who can’t pay in five minutes. It’s a joke."
So far, Hannah has refused to pay the fines and has since been issued with a court date for two fines dating back to July 2023. In the meantime she has enlisted help from her local MP while she waits to speak to the company.
Darlington MP Lola McEvoy blasted the firm and is demanding a representative comes to Parliament to explain their actions.
She said: "I've written to Excel Parking and told them I want them to come to Parliament and meet with me and tell me to my face why they think it’s acceptable to treat people like this."
Excel Parking Services are standing by the fines and defended the ‘five-minute’ time limit.
A spokesperson said: "Unfortunately a large percentage of motorists do not pay.
"They simply sit in their vehicles for a prolonged period of time waiting to pick people up from the hotel, cinema, and restaurants.
"That causes a loss of revenue and maintenance problems, and that's why the five-minute time period has been introduced."
Brenna Cooper