I was fined £170 for parking in disabled bay even though I have a blue badge – it’s not fair

A COUPLE were fined after parking in a disabled bay to grab a Subway sandwich – even though they say they own a blue badge.

Martin Andrew, 54, and wife Jackie, 56, said they were stunned to be slapped with a whopping £170 fine.

SWNS

Martin and Jackie say they never received the original letter, only receiving a letter after the cost had increased[/caption]

The couple, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, received the fine after stopping to grab a bite to eat back in June.

Martin said he was recovering from surgery at the time, and is a legitimate blue badge holder.

But weeks later he and his wife Jackie received a hefty fine for opting to park in a disabled bay.

They said they were shocked to discover that the penalty was originally supposed to be just £60, but it was increased to £170 after allegedly ignoring a previous letter from parking company GroupNexus.

Martin accepted that he may have forgotten to display his blue badge at the time, and said he would be happy to pay the original £60 fine.

But he was adamant he never forgot to pay in the first place – leading the company to agree to decrease the penalty after The Oldham Times intervened.

Just a week later, the couple received yet another letter demanding the £170 payment.

Martin slammed the car park’s handling of the issue “at a time when consumers are cutting back on costs due to the economic situation.”

Following the parking fine fiasco, the company has agreed to drop the fine altogether.

He added: “We may have made a mistake if we did not show the blue badge but to issue no PCN on the day, nor hear anything until the 28-day ‘cheap fine’ £60 period had expired, which then increased to £170, is daylight robbery.

“Many customers will have paid this unjust increase in fear of going to court.

“It strikes us as an irresponsible, unjustified working practice by the parking company and Elk Mill management.”

The 54-year-old said that he and his wife have vowed to not return to the car park in the future after the ordeal.

It comes after a pensioner in Grimsby was handed a £70 for parking at a supermarket for over eight hours – yet he claims he actually only briefly stopped by twice in the same day.