A great-grandad was left shocked after facing fines of up to £1,560 for parking near his home. Peter Lee was given 12 parking tickets by Kensington and Chelsea Council after a blunder meant his permit wasn’t registered correctly. The retired fashion designer’s Mercedes was covered in yellow parking fines and a traffic warden even warned Peter his vehicle could be towed if he didn’t pay the incorrect fines.
The 77-year-old said: “I have had two weeks of sleepless nights [while the issue was solved]. I was worried that my car was going to be towed away. I’m about to be a great-granddad for the second time and I would like to be able to speed down to Rochester and support my granddaughter. I could have been unable to do that. There should not have been an issue in the first place.”
The Notting Hill resident tried to pay his £250 parking permit for the new year but because of a delay in updating the council’s system, parking officers didn’t know Peter had paid his dues. The council has now sorted the problem and Peter will not be charged.
Peter is the latest Londoner to face a staggering number of fines for parking near his home. A Chiswick builder was shocked to have 51 parking tickets arrive through his letterbox one day. Hounslow Council later cancelled the charges.
In March. a Lewisham resident was allegedly given a £65 parking ticket because his car’s shadow was in a disabled parking spot. A Kensington and Chelsea Council spokesperson said: “We’re sorry for any distress this caused to the resident. The permit is valid and all the tickets have been cancelled.
“Payment wasn’t made for a renewed residents’ parking permit renewal before the previous one expired. There was a delay in processing the permit after payment which meant penalty charge notices were issued whilst the permit was not showing as valid.”
