A Collingham teenager has been hit with a parking fine after being accused of parking in KFC’s Newark branch for over 4 hours.
PARKING enforcers are giving a Collingham teenager sleepless nights after accusing her of spending more than four hours in a fast food chain’s carpark.
Eighteen-year-old Emily MacNab has been issued with a £100 parking fine after she was accused of staying at the KFC in Newark for 4½ hours — a claim she vehemently denies.
She said she went through the fast food restaurant drive-thru with friends at 7.56pm on February 13, and then left again just ten minutes later to run errands.
She then returned at around midnight to pick her friends up again, and left at 12.21am.
It is thought that the CCTV cameras picked up on her entering the carpark at 7.56pm, but didn’t capture her leaving the first time and she was only spotted leaving at 12.21am after she returned to collect her friends.
The carpark is operated by UK Parking Control, and allows customers up to 90 minutes’ free parking.
Because Emily is a carer for vulnerable young people and works long, sometimes 24-hour shifts, she didn’t initially open her post straight away and missed the deadline to appeal the fine after the 28-day grace period.
The fine then increased to £100 and she is now being threatened with court action, something she fears will affect her future career.
She said: “This didn’t happen. Why would I sit in a KFC car park for four hours?
“If this goes to court, this could ruin my career because I need to be CRB checked and I’m worried this could lead to a criminal record.”
A Chartered Trading Standards Institute spokesman said: “People in a parking dispute can appeal the decision initially to the company that operate the carpark.
“If the initial appeal is rejected, consumers can go through an independent adjudicator such as Parking on Private Land Appears (POPLA) or the Independent Appeals Service.
“For more immediate advice, you can contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 040506.”
KFC Newark manager Hannah Goddard has said she would contact UK Parking Control and do her best to have Emily’s parking fine cancelled.
UK Parking Control did not respond to requests from the Advertiser for a comment.
If you have been affected by a parking dispute like Emily’s, contact the Advertiser on 01636 668463.
