Motorist James overturns £60 parking fine - by proving he was two miles away
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MOTORIST James Cooper has had his parking fine overturned – after proving he was working out at a gym when his car was supposedly parked two miles away on a supermarket car park.
The 26-year-old was hit with the £60 fine after being accused of overstaying the 90-minute limit on the free car park in Newcastle.
But James was adamant he had only parked at the CCTV-monitored Lidl car park in Lower Street for 70 minutes after going there from the gym.
He appealed against the fine and, armed with proof of his whereabouts from M Club, in Trent Vale, has managed to overturn the penalty.
Now the marketing officer fears dozens of motorists are wrongly being handed parking fines on CCTV-operated free car parks.
He said: "I'm outraged. If this has happened to me it has probably happened to countless other people."
James was accused by national firm UKPC of parking at Lidl from 2.10pm to 4.12pm.
James, of Newcastle, said: "I got to the Lidl car park at 3.20pm – I know the time because I was meeting a friend at 3.30pm. I was there until about 4.30pm and when I returned there was a parking ticket on my car, which shocked me. I immediately went home and logged on to the UKPC website where you can view photo evidence from the parking attendant.
"There were five photos of my car – four from 4.12pm, but the fifth was time-stamped 2.10pm.
"I knew I hadn't been there at that time because I was at the gym. I hadn't been to the car park earlier that day either."
James lodged an appeal against the charge – and was told the fine would not be overturned. But James was determined to be proved right and contacted the M Club which confirmed he was at the gym at 2.11pm.
He added: "The gym gave me a print out from the computer which showed I booked into the gym at 2.11pm. I knew this didn't prove my car was there at that time, but I got a copy of my car insurance that shows I am the only person insured to drive my car, to show no one else could have parked it at the Lidl car park."
M Club assistant general manager Debbie Evans said: "Mr Cooper approached us about proving he was at the gym at the time. We were able to give him evidence of what time he had swiped in at our premises."
James was finally told his fine had been quashed after sending the new evidence to the company.
His girlfriend, Jenny Podmore, aged 30, who lives with James, said: "I was disgusted and couldn't believe it had happened. The same thing could have happened to other people who might have paid their fine without realising the discrepancies in the times."
The firm's email to James said: "We understand your frustration and appreciate the inconvenience this has caused you. It is not our intention to cause undue worry and frustration when enforcing our clients' parking regulations. We have investigated the appeal based on the information submitted by yourself and can confirm in this instance the parking charge has been cancelled."
James has complained to the British Parking Association. It has the power to bar companies which persistently break its rules from the association.
A spokesman said: "We are investigating the matter after Mr Cooper contacted us. UKPC has 14 days to respond to us."
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