I’d rather go to prison than pay £170 beach parking fine – my daughter is disabled and I had no other choice
A MUM has said she’d rather go to prison that pay a £170 parking fine as her daughter is disabled and she had no other choice.
Laura Franklin, 40, had parked in the Harbour House car park on the seafront at Dover, Kent, as she was taking her 13-year-old disabled daughter and her pal - who has cystic fibrosis - to the beach.
She thought it was a public car park - so was shocked when, three days later, a ticket arrived through the post.
Laura said: "There was no parking along the beach so I came here, where I've parked before.
"I had no other choice because my daughter's friend can't walk very far.
"So I'm furious about it. I really am."
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Laura, who works in a charity shop, was originally fined £100. She then appealed the fine - and received email confirmation that it was being looked into.
"But then I got another letter telling me the fine was now £170, because I hadn't paid within the required timeframe," the mum-of-four said.
"£170! How can you justify that?"
Harbour House car park, which uses automatic number plate recognition, is part-time public and part-time private for Dover Harbour Board staff.
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Underneath its signage which states 'Public Parking Available', it clarifies the hours during which the public can park at the site - 4pm till 8am Monday to Friday, and all day on the weekends.
But Laura - who visited on August 13, a Tuesday - says the writing is too small and should be made clearer.
She added: "When you've got children with you, you get distracted. All I was thinking about was giving them a good time."
However, the letter sent by GXS Services, which operates the car park, says there is "clear signage" onsite.
Furthermore, it states that even with her blue badge, Laura still should have paid for parking via the RingGo app - something she said she was not aware of.
Laura is registered disabled as she suffers from irregular heart rhythm and has stents fitted in her heart.
Her daughter has learning difficulties and her daughter's friend has cystic fibrosis.
When she visited Harbour House Car Park, she parked in a marked disabled bay and displayed her blue badge the entire time - between 12:15pm and 1:59pm.
How do I appeal a parking ticket?
More than half of motorists have successfully appealed parking fines from local councils, an investigation by The Sun found.
The best way to beat a parking charge is to avoid getting one in the first place - but if you do come back to your car and find a ticket there are some ways of beating the system.
However, how you appeal will depend on the type of parking ticket you have - so it's important to check before you start the process.
Here's how the process of an appeal works.
Once you have received a parking notice, the first stop is hold of paying the amount find if you're hoping to appeal.
The second step is to read the information provided on the ticket so you know how long you have to challenge then fine.
Once you've got an idea of how long you have, you can make an initial appeal to the ticket issuer.
You can do this by phone, post or email - make sure to include supporting evidence as to why you believe you have been incorrectly fined.
One example would be to provide evidence showing the parking signs weren’t clear.
According to Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis, it is best to appeal within 14 days as this allows time to pay the fine at the reduced rate if your appeal is denied.
The next stage is to make a formal appeal - this happens if you're initial appeal was turned down.
Some ticket issuers belong to independent appeal schemes which provide a free and impartial service.
When making a formal appeal, make sure to include a space for you to put the grounds for appeal.
The council has 56 days to respond to a formal appeal or you win by default.
The mum, who lives in Dover, said: "I don't think it's right. I'm disabled, and I had two disabled children with me at the time.
"Plus, they've got CCTV, so they would have seen that my daughter's friend has additional needs.
"I've proved I am disabled and shown them proof of my blue badge."
Laura says she will fight the fine till the very end - even if she ends up in prison.
She said: "If they refuse my appeal, it will go to court, and I will fight it all the way.
"I feel I'm justified, and I'm not going to give up.
"Even if I end up going to prison, I would gladly take it.
"I don't think it's right. I don't think these private companies should be allowed to charge £170.
"It's stressing me out. I'm having trouble sleeping at night.
"I'm worried because they're on my case.
"They want me to pay this fine. But I just can't."
GXS services was set up in 2014 and states its ethos is "to remove the burden of abusive parking by implementing ethical, transparent parking management".
The letter sent to Laura states: "This charge relates to the period of parking specified above, the charge having been incurred for the reason stated and liability for the same having been brought to the attention of the driver by clear signage in and around the site at the time of parking."
A Dover Harbour Board spokesman said: "The Harbour House car park has accessible allocated parking for blue badge holders.
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"As a private car park and displayed on the signs, the normal tariff applies to all users including public parking outside of office hours only, and a paid-for ticket being required for the time needed."
The Sun Online had contacted GXS Services for comment.
