Parking fines: ‘I stood up to Excel Parking and won’

A man threatened with court action by a car park operator has encouraged others to stand up for themselves – after the case against him was dropped.

Garry Kay was among numerous people who contacted the BBC after we reported on Rosey Hudson, who is being taken to court by Excel Parking for £1,906.

Both Miss Hudson and Mr Kay were issued with parking charge notices (PCNs) after they took longer than five minutes to pay for parking at the same car park in Derby.

Mr Kay was due to face Excel Parking in court on Friday – but the car park operator has now discontinued its claim for £255 without giving any reason.

Mr Kay only found out the case had been discontinued on Thursday afternoon, when the BBC contacted Derby County Court to check the hearing was still going ahead.

The BBC then told Mr Kay it was not, but he was still worried, so he went to court on Friday to check.

“I’ve made all this effort to come down here today to defend myself and they’ve pulled out,” he said after coming out of court.

“They’ve been contacting me for 14 months nearly, trying to get money out of me, and I’ve been defending it, and when it comes to the crunch they’ve pulled out.

“At least I’ve got Christmas back now, because with the money I’ve saved I can buy my son some presents.”

Since the BBC reported on Miss Hudson’s case it has been raised in the House of Commons, with Derby North MP Catherine Atkinson describing the PCNs as a “five-minute rip-off charge”.

Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell said it was a “pretty scandalous case of private parking charges”.

Mr Kay said he was glad he stood up to Excel Parking and said others should do the same if they believe they have been wrongly issued with a PCN.

“It’s been so stressful and I feel sorry for anyone else in the same position,” he said.

“I wish Excel Parking would think of people’s feelings instead of just the money they’re making.

“They’re ripping people off.”

Derby County Court told the BBC that Excel Parking Services Ltd had filed “a notice of discontinuance”, but had not explained why the case was discontinued.

“Their covering letter says that they had notified Mr Kay, hence why the court haven’t contacted him separately,” a court manager said.

Mr Kay went to the car park in Copeland Street on 13 October 2023, when he dropped off his son at a children’s party at Jumpin Fun.

He entered the car park at 16:14 BST and said he had to “wait for ages” to get a parking space because the car park was so busy.

He initially did not realise he had to pay, he said, but when he entered Jumpin Fun a member of staff told him he needed to.

He then went outside and bought a £2 ticket for two hours of parking.

By the time Mr Kay got a ticket it was 16:34, because he said there was a queue at the parking machine.

He then decided to stay to watch his son, and eventually left the car park at 17:35, meaning he had been in the car park for one hour and 21 minutes.

Mr Kay later received a PCN asking him to pay £100, reduced to £60 if he paid within 14 days.

The letter said this was because he had failed to purchase the ticket “within the time allowed”.

He attempted to appeal the PCN directly with Excel Parking but the company wrote back saying “we are unable to accept your appeal”.

It later filed a court claim for “breaching the terms and conditions set on private land”.

Although the PCN was £100, Excel Parking added “contractual costs”, interest, a court fee and “legal representative’s costs”, making a total of £255.

The BBC contacted Excel Parking and asked a number of questions, including why it had discontinued its court claim against Mr Kay.

The company – which expects drivers to pay for parking within five minutes – responded to the BBC after 21 hours and 18 minutes.

However, Excel Parking did not respond to our questions and asked for an “extension”, saying it would need “a minimum of 48 hrs notice”.