A grandmother has voiced her fury after being slapped with a £270 parking fine – despite the meter being broken.
Krystyna Allen, 81, left her car parked for just 11 minutes in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, before moving it because she was not able to pay.
She received a £100 fine 10 days after the July incident.
The pensioner sent several letters to Smart Parking to dispute the fine, explaining she had attempted to pay.
She said she attempted to pay three or four times, with both cash and card, before moving her car.
Despite her efforts, she could not pay as the machine was out of order.
Mrs Allen told The Telegraph she has now only received more demands for payment in response to her letters, with the original fine raising to £270.
The pensioner said she had received letters from debt collectors and been threatened with court proceedings as a result of the dispute.
Krystyna Allen said she tried to pay at the parking meter three or four times with both cash and card (file photo)
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The grandmother said she did not have her phone with her, as she does not use one.
“Two very kind gentlemen confirmed it wasn’t working by trying their own cards,” she added.
The pair then suggested she move her car before she was fined.
She went back to her car and parked across the road at the Arts House car park to unload food for a charity singing event at the church next door, she said.
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The Smart Parking managed car park where Mrs Allen received her fine
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The 11 minutes it took between arriving and leaving was because she was slow on her feet, the grandmother from nearby Langley added.
She said she had paid hundreds to park at the Smart Parking managed location over the years, adding she would never consider parking there without a paying.
Smart Parking has faced criticism over the years, including following a 2017 incident in which an 80-year-old widow was chased down for £160 after underpaying by 10p.
It currently has a rating of 1.2 stars on Trustpilot, a consumer reviews website.
A Smart Parking spokesman said: “The motorist in question received a parking charge due to staying in the car park and leaving it without paying.
“It is important to highlight that on the day they were charged, both the cash option on the on-site payment machines and the RingGo app were fully operational and were used by our customers as a method of payment before, during and after the motorist’s stay at the car park.
“Smart Parking are members of the International Parking Community (IPC) and strictly follow its guidelines.
“As part of this, we operate an IPC audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their parking charges by highlighting their mitigating circumstances.
“The motorist’s appeal was rejected, and because they failed to engage further, the charge was subsequently escalated to debt recovery.”
