A man who was given a parking fine despite claiming he paid has had the charge dropped - because he is a “regular” customer.
Tim Hall, 63, and wife Eileen, do twice weekly food and clothes shops at their local Mark & Spencer in Truro, Cornwall.
The couple say they always pay for two hours parking at the nearby Tabernacle Street car park - giving them plenty of time to get back to their vehicle.
But the pair were left stunned to receive a Parking Charge Notice in January this year - demanding they pay £100, reduced to £50 if paid within two weeks.
Mr Hall says the couple visited their M&S on January 13 and got back to the car after "roughly an hour and five minutes" - long before the ticket was due to expire.
However, the company that issued the fine on behalf of the car park they used claims a ticket hadn’t been purchased for their car.
Napier Parking admitted this could have been due to the number plate being entered incorrectly.
Mr Hall has now won a rare appeal against the private parking firm - on the basis he is a “regular customer” of the car park.
Tim, a retired ordnance survey mapper, said: "We regularly shop at M&S - we get all of our food there and occasionally clothing too.
"It's great and very convenient. We park at the car park every two weeks on a Wednesday or Thursday, and always pay £2.50 for two hours of parking.
Have you successfully appealed an unfair car park ticket? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
"We are not the sort of people to not pay or be dishonest. We were very upset to get the fine and to be honest were not hopeful our appeal would be accepted.
"The news came as a surprise but we are very pleased. It's good news that on this occasion they decided to drop the fixed charge notice."
Director of Napier Parking, James de Savary, said: "We have received an appeal from the driver. We could find no transaction for the vehicle in question.
"This could be due to an incorrect VRM being entered, as an example.
"However, we have accepted the appeal as it appears that they are convinced they have paid and are a regular customer. They will be notified directly."
He added that they always encourage motorists to appeal should they feel they have grounds to do so.
