I’ve been fined three times for parking but successfully challenged them ALL – these are my tips to fight back

A WAR hero has told how he battled parking firms and won - three times.

Malcolm Scothern, 81, has successfully fought back against three unfair parking fines he's been slapped with by private car parks in Nottinghamshire.

The veteran from Kirkby in Ashfield - who was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) - first came under enemy fire in Mansfield after his car was zapped by a pesky camera.

This one followed a dispute with parking firm CP Plus, after he had parked legitimately at St Peter’s Retail Park in the town in April.

Malcolm was there for 75 minutes after paying £2 at the designated machine.

But to his horror, he still received a crippling £60 fine from CP Plus, who tried to claim he had parked without payment.

The hero former Cavalryman of the 17th/21st Lancers (now Queen’s Royal Lancers), an Army regiment, wrote to the car park company, claiming he thought the machine had been faulty.

Thankfully he had kept his parking ticket and receipt to prove his case.

CP Plus have since responded by saying: “This parking charge has been cancelled in full. No further action will be taken.

“We apologise sincerely for any inconvenience caused in this matter, and can confirm that the case has been closed.”

Malcolm has since shared his top tips for being successful and not falling victim to parking fines.

The first is to hold onto your ticket and not bin it, as this acts as a receipt.

He told the : “There was no explanation that anything had gone wrong, which proves my point that these companies just send out the fines and hope the recipients have disposed of their ticket and so pay up."

This means that if an unfair tickets comes through your letter box, you can challenge it.

He concluded: "I feel there is a danger that the public are being ripped off terribly."

Malcolm’s previous parking fine successes were at the Festival Hall in Kirkby around ten years ago.

The second was at the Commercial Gate car park in Mansfield in February 2022.

The second came after the ticket machine refused both cash and card and Malcolm's complaint was upheld by the Parking On Private Land Appeals service.

Malcolm was awarded his BEM in 2016 for his voluntary work as chairman of the East Midlands branch of the Queen’s Royal Lancers Regimental Association.

He founded the branch - that improves the quality of life for former soldiers - and has built it up to boast more than 1,000 members.

The Sun Online has approached CP Plus for comment.