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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Jack Thurlow & Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas

Fuming couple who were hit with 'absolute joke' £200 parking fine 'won't pay a penny'

A fuming couple have vowed not to pay a 'single penny' after they were hit with a mystery £200 parking fine.

Barbara Shabir, 42, and her husband Yasir received two notices in the last week - both for £100 - from the company Premier Park, which said they had overstayed parking limits at the Matalan store at Springfield Retail Park in Bulwell, Nottingham.

The notices claim he overstayed at the car park by two hours and seven minutes on February 1, and was parked over the allotted time limit again on February 17.

But Barbara has told Nottinghamshire Live that the pair of fines for her husband, who is a night shift worker at the neighbouring Morrisons supermarket, are based on an "absolute lie" as he was taking their children to their three separate schools at the time.

The wife, who lives in the market town of Hucknall with Yasir and their five kids, said: "So the one last week said it was February 1, it was a school day, 15.52. He was on a school run then and apparently he overstayed by two hours and seven minutes - that's why they sent him a fine for £100.

Barbara said we 'categorically haven't parked in Matalan's car park' (Getty Images)

"We can categorically say that it is an absolute lie. And then the one we got yesterday for February 17 says entry time 15.20 and exit time 21.47pm.

"It's an absolute joke. I've appealed both of them.

Her husband usually goes to work at "around half-nine, quarter-to-ten" in the evening, she says, and finishes at six or seven in the morning.

But Barbara says he always parks in their own car park along with his colleagues, adding: "We haven't parked in Matalan's car park for more than an hour. We absolutely, categorically haven't parked in Matalan's car park where we think these cameras are.

"Every now and again you do make a mistake - you go in a bus lane by accident and you think 'oh God, I have to pay it' because it is your mistake. We're not paying a single penny, I'm happy to go to court, I'm happy to prove there's nothing we've done wrong.

She stated that it was not possible that her husband was there at the times stated as his school runs take a "good hour-and-a-quarter" at least, and vowed: "We're not going to take this lying down."

A spokesperson for the Alliance of British Drivers said they would advise the couple to "do anything they can do to prove they were not parked there" at the time, with documentary evidence likely to prove especially helpful.

Suggesting a dash cam may help resolve the issue, they said: "Some drivers have dash cam footage and evidence which could also help, though we know not every driver has this. There's a lot of this going on with private car parking companies - I don't know if it is increasing or decreasing right now.

The Mirror have approached asked Premier Park for comment.

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