I was fined for leaving my motor in my OWN car park and the company was dismissive – I’m disgusted
A FUMING resident of a gated community has told how she was issued a fine for parking in her OWN car park.
Donna Hefferon, 40, has lived in an apartment at Marsland House in Stockport with wife Lisa, for 12 months.
She says as part of her tenancy agreement with Johnnie Johnson Housing Community who own the properties, she is able to park in the resident’s car park.
She has a permit that she displays on the windscreen of her vehicle – but was issued with a fine when the laminated permit had dropped down the windscreen.
Donna was slapped with a ticket of £170 for the alleged contravention which happened on November 13 last year.
She refuted it but was told the time to appeal had lapsed and it was too late. Now she is now being chased by a debt recovery agency.
Donna said: “We live in a gated community and have a fob that opens the gates for the cars to enter. I have had my permit displayed in my windscreen.
“The laminated permit had dropped down the windscreen and wasn’t entirely visible but could still be seen. I pay a service charge for the upkeep of the area and the gardens and it is in our tenancy agreement that we can park.”
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Donna says she approached Johnnie Johnson Housing Community, who stated they had provided everyone with a permit holder to stick on the vehicle windscreen to prevent the permits from slipping off or being blown onto the floor.
However, Donna said she felt they had been “dismissive” of her plight.
She says: “I am quite disgusted about it now, it’s going to affect my credit rating if I get a CCJ. I have disputed it but it is putting pressure on my marriage.”
The ticket has since been cancelled, a spokesperson for the firm said.
A spokesperson for Marsland House said: “Marsland House has limited parking, so to prevent the wider community from parking in the customer only parking spaces, Johnnie Johnson Housing consulted with residents about putting a permit holder parking system in place. The residents voted for this, and the scheme has now been in place for several years.
“The Community Housing Officer for the local area is responsible for issuing permits to the residents. The permits must be clearly displayed on the car windscreen to prevent a parking ticket being issued.
“On occasion the permit gets forgotten or slips down, when this happens, we ask the resident to contact their Community Housing Officer straight away in order for her to contact the parking enforcement team to verify that they are a permit holder and that the ticket can be waived.
“However, if the Community Housing Officer is not informed that this has happened, the parking enforcement team continue with their process and a fine may be issued. As soon as we become aware of any issues, we step in to try and resolve them.
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“Our Community Housing Officers will always endeavour to work with our residents to ensure that they are receiving the support and help they require.
“In this case, we spoke with Donna Hefferon and then contacted the parking enforcement team on her behalf. As a result, the ticket was cancelled, and the matter is now closed. We apologise for any stress or inconvenience this may have caused Donna Hefferon and can confirm there is no longer an outstanding fine.”