Berkeley Bathurst says he has suffered months of stress over a charge he received after leaving his Vauxhall in Elm Park Car Park for less than 12 minutes on October 16.
The 75-year-old claims that he tried to pay for his ticket, which costs just £1 for a half-an-hour stay, but that the machine was displaying a ‘not in use’ error.
Being without his phone, which is an alternative way drivers can pay for their parking, the pensioner ran an errand to the Post Office before driving home.
Two weeks later, he was shocked to find he had been sent a £100 fine in the post by operator One Parking Solution.
After he refused to pay, this was escalated to debt collection agency ZZPS, which added a £70 administration fee to his charge and threatened him with legal action at the county court.
A letter from ZZPS warned Mr Bathurst that if payment did not take place, “additional charges may be incurred”.
“How could I pay if the machine wasn’t working? It’s not my responsibility to maintain their machines,” he told Romford Recorder.
“I tried to appeal but I was told it was rejected. I’m not paying it because I’m not going to be ripped off.
“This has caused me so much stress because that’s a flipping lot of money. Where am I going to get £170?”
His wife, 73-year-old Angela, added that she thought the actions of the parking company were “tyrannical”, considering how small the parking fee would have been.
“It seems to me that money is these parking people’s God and that’s it, they don’t care,” she said. “He was barely there for ten minutes.”
The couple, who have lived in Wood Lane in Hornchurch for the last 30 years, have now warned other shoppers to be careful when using the car park to avoid receiving similar fines.
One Park Solution did not respond after being approached for comment about Mr Bathurst’s case.
