We’ve been fined thousands for parking in spaces we PAY to use & we’re being threatened with court – it’s beyond a joke
A FURIOUS couple have been fined thousands for parking in spaces they PAY to use and are even being threatened with court action.
Tracey and Tony Newman fork out £120 a month to rent two spots for their vehicles in a car park close to their business.
The pair run an estate agents in Poole, Bournemouth, which they travel to each day while leaving their vehicles on a Premier Park site on Prosperous Street.
But despite paying for their spaces each month, they say they have been bombarded with fines totalling more than £4,000 for almost three years.
Even though there are designated signs explaining they are for business use, they have received repeated penalty notices through the post.
Tracey and Tony say they are being harassed for the cash and have been warned of court proceedings if they don't pay up.
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The business owners have been left "embarrassed" by the fiasco and are now desperate to resolve the "irritating" issue.
Tracey told the : "It’s really irritating.
"When you are trying to run a business, the last thing I want is to be opening my post and getting debt threats when all I’m doing is parking in a space I’m allowed to park in.
"We rent the spaces for our own use, it doesn’t matter whose cars are in there, as long as it’s only those two spaces.
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"Premier Park manage the rest of the car park, those spaces are separate and they are fully aware of that. However, they keep sending us parking tickets.
"Their guy who comes round has even been in and said sorry and we won’t get anymore tickets, that was a load of rubbish.
"We’re now getting threats to be taken to court if we don’t pay these various fines which are thousands and thousands of pounds."
The furious motorist says customers and visitors are often penalised by the parking firm too.
Tracey continued: "We don’t have to display a permit. They know those two spaces are nothing to do with them whatsoever.
"Even more concerning is when it’s customers or visitors.
"Tony’s car is in the Mercedes garage at the moment and they’ve given him a loan car. Mercedes garage are now getting parking tickets.
'IT'S EMBARRASING'
"It’s embarrassing for us. It’s not doing us any good at all. I’m worried, I don’t want to go to court.
"We’re not even illegally parked, there’s no grey area.
"They are our parking spaces, rented by us, paid for by us, for our own company. It feels like you’re banging your head against a brick wall.
"I’d like them to cancel all the fees and guarantee there won’t be any court cases. And a sorry would be nice."
Fed up Tracey says the continuous fines are ruining their credit rating and branded the blunder "beyond a joke".
And Tony, 52, says the fines continue to come through the door on a "daily basis".
"I've got envelopes coming out of my ears. It is a daily occurrence," Tony said.
He added that he had rented the spaces from the car park's owner, Graham Thorne, for almost 30 years.
But when Graham wrote a letter to Premier Park - the company hired to manage the car park - explaining his arrangement with the couple, Tony said it had no effect.
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Graham said: "As far as I'm concerned Tony shouldn't have been charged."
The Sun Online has contacted Premier Park Ltd for comment.