A man who overstayed his time at a car park by 10 minutes has shared how it led to him struggling to rent a house, even though he paid the fine within two weeks.
Ashley Pavett had left his car for longer than the 90-minute limit outside Costa Coffee in Green Meadow, Pontyclun in South Wales.
On April 16, 2024, he was sent a fine totalling £60 and made the payment within 14 days on April 30, believing the matter had been resolved.
‘I was a bit frustrated but I paid it and moved on,’ he explained.
But having long forgotten about the minor offence, Mr Pavett found his life suddenly turned upside down after he was phoned by his ex-landlord in October, informing him he had been sent an urgent letter.
It contained a new fine from Parking Eye, the firm which manages the car park at Green Meadow, on top of a notification that the company had been given a county court judgement (CCJ) against him.
A CCJ is issued when a claimant takes court action against person for money allegedly owed for which it has not received any response. It can seriously affect someone’s credit score, making it difficult to take out loans or get credit.
Ashley said it caused him ‘all kinds of issues’.
Ashley Pavett (pictured) found his life was turned upside down after he was a car park operator took legal action for a fine he had paid within 14 days
Mr Pavett promptly paid a £60 fine after leaving his car for longer than the 90-minute limit, but was pursued by Parking Eye which had no record of his payment
He explained. ‘To start with I had no idea what it was for. I decided that I’d just pay the £192 and then try and sort it out after that and if it was a mistake I’d get a refund. So I paid it and then started contacting them to try and get to the bottom of it.’
Parking Eye had issued further fines to Mr Pavett’s old address believing that he had not settled the original fixed penalty notice and proceeded with legal action when it received no response.
‘I was £252 out of pocket, which is one thing, but the worst of it was what I’ve suffered with as a result of the CCJ,’ Ashley explained.
‘I haven’t been able to rent a property because of it. If I wasn’t honest with my employer about the CCJ and how it came about I could have ended up losing my job.
‘My score on Experian has plummeted by around 500 points. All because of this CCJ which is for a parking fine in April which I paid for properly. I’ve literally done nothing wrong..’
After taking his case to the British Parking Association who after liaising with Parking Eye, wrote to Mr Pavett on January 20 saying they had located his original payment made on April 30 last year.
He was told the court action had been dropped and he would be refunded the £192 as well as the cost of the original fine he paid as a gesture of goodwill.
Mr Pavett said: ‘This has affected me so much, it’s really caused chaos in my life. I do feel like I am owed some sort of remuneration [beyond what he’s received this week].
‘Ultimately I paid that charge. It was their administrative error which caused all this. To be honest the damage they’ve caused me is well beyond £252.’
Car park operators have in recent years turned to legal action in a crack down on drivers who evade parking charges.
Shocking figures reveal ruthless private companies dished out 3.8million tickets to drivers between July and September last year – an average of one every two seconds.
Mr Pavett parked his vehicle outside this Costa Coffee store in Green Meadow near Pontyclun, South Wales
Mr Pavett took his case to the British Parking Association who managed to convince the car park owner to drop the court action and refund him his original fine, but Parking Eye insists it still can’t trace the payment
But a Parking Eye spokesperson said the company still had no record of Mr Pavett’s payment.
They said: ‘We provide car park management services at the Costa Coffee in Green Meadow. The car park features prominent and highly visible signs throughout, providing information on how to use the car park responsibly.
‘This includes guidance on how all Costa and Green Meadow customers have a 90-minute maximum stay and there is a no return for two hours.
‘The motorist received a parking charge for parking for one hour and 40 minutes. We have no record of the motorist making a successful payment of the parking charge on April 30.
‘As the UK’s leading car park management provider, we process a significant volume of payments every year and have robust systems in place for tracking and traceability. It is also worth noting that all correspondence went to the vehicle’s registered address.’
