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A UK judge has ordered a car park operator to pay expenses of £19.50 ($27.24), including parking, to a man it had fined for taking more than five minutes to pay. Excel Parking Services has sent numerous people £100 ($140) Parking Charge Notices (PCNs) for taking too long to pay at the Copeland Street car park in Derby. Peter Barton, who took 19 minutes to pay because he could not find a suitable parking space, decided to challenge Excel by not paying the PCN. His case was then heard at Derby County Court, where a judge dismissed it and ordered Excel Parking to pay him £19.50 to cover his travel expenses. This comprised of £15 mileage for driving to court and £4.50 to cover his parking while he was at the hearing.
Excel had made a claim against him for breach of contract, because it has signs saying people must pay for parking within five minutes of entering the car park. However, Mr Barton argued he was not aware of this when he entered the car park. In their code of practice it says you should be able to read the terms and conditions without having to exit the car,” he told the court. He also stated that the particular sign they had showing the terms and conditions is on the passenger’s side of the car which can’t be read from it. Mr Barton also said he had not read the particular term stating people must pay within five minutes however he said, “even if I had read it, it was already too late”.
A UK judge has ordered a car park operator to pay expenses – including for parking – to a man it “fined” for taking more than five minutes to pay. Excel Parking Services has sent numerous people £100 Parking Charge Notices (PCNs) for taking too long to pay at the Copeland Street car park in Derby. Peter Barton, who took 19 minutes to pay because he could not find a suitable parking space, decided to challenge Excel by not paying the PCN. His case was then heard at Derby County Court, where a judge dismissed it and ordered Excel Parking to pay him £19.50 to cover his travel expenses. Following media reporting about Miss Hudson’s case, the two trade organisations for private car park operators have said they are setting up a panel to oversee changes to their joint code of practice. However, some MPs are sceptical, and are calling on the government to introduce a statutory code of practice to protect drivers.
Excel Parking Services had made a claim for the £100 PCN plus £70 costs before Deputy District Judge Nathan Smith dismissed it. He said the contract between Excel and Mr Barton “was not concluded until he read the terms and conditions next to the parking meter”. This meant that it was not legally binding at the point he entered the car park. “As such, it seems difficult to see how he could have been in breach of those terms and conditions before the contract was concluded,” the judge said. Excel Parking made a claim against Mr Barton for breach of contract, because of signs saying people must pay for parking within five minutes of entering the car park. His argument was that he was not aware of the terms and conditions when he entered the car park.
Rosey Hudson, another person who parked at the same car park, was asked to pay £1,906 for taking too long to pay on 10 occasions. Mr Barton contacted the BBC after the story about Hudson became known. He said Excel’s “five-minute rule is ridiculous. It just needs people to stand up to it. If you’ve paid for parking you’ve paid for parking
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