A furious mum says she would rather go to prison than pay a £170 parking fine.
Laura Franklin had left her car at Harbour House Car Park on Dover seafront as she was taking her 13-year-old disabled daughter and her friend – who has cystic fibrosis – to the beach.
But the 40-year-old was shocked when, three days later, a fine arrived through the post.
Ms Franklin told KentOnline: “There was no parking along the beach, so I came in here, where I’ve parked before.
“I had no other choice because my daughter’s friend can’t walk very far.
“I’m furious about it. I really am.”
She was originally fined £100. She appealed and received an email saying it had been received.
“Then I got another letter telling me the fine was now £170 because I hadn’t paid within the required timeframe,” she said.
“£170! How can you justify that?”
The car park, which is operated by GXS Services and uses automatic number plate recognition, is part-time public and part-time private for Dover Harbour Board staff.
Underneath the signage, it lists the hours during which the public can park there – 4pm till 8am Monday to Friday and all day on weekends.
But the mum-of-four says the writing is too small and should be made clearer.
She added: “It’s such a small print. You can barely see it.
“When you’ve got children with you, you get distracted. All I was thinking about was giving them a good time.”
But the letter sent by GXS Services says there is “clear signage” at the site.
Furthermore, it states that even with a blue badge, she still should have paid for parking via the Ringo app, something she was not aware of.
Ms Franklin, who is registered disabled, suffers from irregular heart rhythm and has stents fitted in her heart. Her daughter has learning difficulties.
She parked in a disabled bay and displayed her blue badge on August 13 between 12.15pm and 1.59pm.
The charity shop worker said: “I don’t think it’s right. I’m disabled, and I had two disabled children with me at the time.”
“Plus, they’ve got CCTV, so they would have seen that my daughter’s friend has additional needs.
“I’ve proved I am disabled and shown them proof of my blue badge.”
Ms Franklin, of Harold Street, Dover, says she will fight the fine till the very end.
“If they refuse my appeal, it will go to court, and I will fight it all the way, ” she said.
“I feel I’m justified, and I’m not going to give up.
“Even if I end up going to prison, I would gladly take it.
“I don’t think it’s right. I don’t think these private companies should be allowed to charge £170.”
Ms Franklin has vowed never to park there again.
She explained: “It’s stressing me out. I’m having trouble sleeping at night.
“I’m worried because they’re on my case.
“They want me to pay this fine. But I just can’t.”
GXS services was set up in 2014 and states its ethos is “to remove the burden of abusive parking by implementing ethical, transparent parking management”.
The letter sent to Ms Franklin says: “This charge relates to the period of parking specified above, the charge having been incurred for the reason stated and liability for the same having been brought to the attention of the driver by clear signage in and around the site at the time of parking.”
A Dover Harbour Board spokesman said: “The Harbour House car park has accessible allocated parking for blue badge Holders.
“As a private car park and displayed on the signs, the normal tariff applies to all users including public parking outside of office hours only, and a paid-for ticket being required for the time needed.”
What are your rights when you get a parking fine?
Parking Charge Notices are issued by private companies, and are different to Penalty Charge Notices handed out by councils.
They are not technically a fine, but rather an invoice which can be enforced by the courts.
When you park in a privately-owned car park that is controlled by a landowner or a parking company, you enter an unspoken contract with them that agrees to follow the terms and conditions.
Failure to adhere to these rules gives you less legal ground to stand on, and parking companies can and will pursue further methods of getting their money, which can include debt collectors and court proceedings.
Read KentOnline’s guide to parking fines here.
Private car parks can charge for disabled parking.
Government guidance states: “Off-street car park operators should provide parking spaces for disabled people.
“However, it is up to the car park owner to decide whether badge holders can park free of charge. Do not assume you can always park for free.”
The Kent County Council website says a blue badge badge holder can park for free:
*in allocated disabled bays and on the road
*in any car park for the maximum stay (in line with terms and conditions on display)
*on single or double yellow lines for up to three hours.
