A DRIVER was left stunned when he was slapped with a £100 fine despite paying for his parking thanks to an obscure rule.
The unfortunate motorist was only caught out by a few seconds either way.
Nigel Eaton found himself in hot water after a visit to the Sankt Augustin Way retail park in Grantham, Lincolnshire, to buy clothes.
He picked up his items as normal and went home to try them on, only to find that some didn’t fit.
At that point, he went back to the outlet to return them, unknowingly costing himself a £100 penalty in the process.
The company who issued it has since cancelled the charge but Nigel claims the rules are too strict.
He said: ” I was left absolutely staggered to receive this fine.
“I had to go back to the same shop to return an item, and I didn’t know there was a restriction.
“It’s over-zealous in my opinion.”
The restriction that caught him out was that the car park enforces a “no return within two hours” policy.
As the name suggests, this means that anybody who used the car park cannot do so again for at least two hours after they exit.
Painfully, Nigel claims that he was only within the limit by four seconds when he made his return trip.
He alleged: “I departed the car park in the first instance at 3.12pm and 45 seconds, and returned at 5.12pm and 41 seconds.
“Its a retail park, lots of people will probably return within this limit.
“I was only there for 34 minutes in total. While I suspect it is most likely an automated system, I think they need to make it clearer with a sign.”
Parking Eye, the operator of the car park, has cancelled the fine, but insists the rules were clear.
A spokesperson said: “The car park at Sankt Augustin Way features prominent and highly-visible signs throughout providing information on how to use the car park responsibly.
“This includes guidance on how all motorists have a maximum two hour stay, as well as no return within two hours.
“The system is in place to prevent long-stay parking abuse and ensure that spaces are available for customers of the retail park.
“We can confirm that the motorists charge was cancelled on appeal.”
