A MUM has lashed out at an unfair £100 parking fine after claiming she was trapped in a car park by “obscene” traffic.
Natalie Minker, was slapped with a penalty charge after allegedly getting stuck in “gridlocked” jams when trying to leave a shopping centre car park.
Natalie, 39, had taken a trip with her two young daughters, eight-year-old Verity and four-year-old Edith, to buy a car seat at their local retail park in Kidderminster, Worcestershire in December 2023.
The site’s car park allows drivers to stay for three hours without having to pay.
Natalie claims that the family arrived at 11.22am and returned from the shops at 11.50am, only to be confronted by “nose-to-tail” queues, leaving them unable to leave.
Completely stuck, Natalie says she decided to walk home and pick up some lunch for the kids, returning at 1.30pm to find the queues still immobile.
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They eventually managed to find away out, but the secondary school teacher was stunned to receive a fine from parking company G24, informing her that she had “overstayed” in the car park by 12 minutes.
She said: “I’m not going to lie, this whole situation is just causing me stress that I could do without.
“However, I can’t bring myself to climb down off this particular hill I have chosen to die on.
“It is outrageous that these big companies can act in this way, and someone needs to take a stand.
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“The fine is only for £100, and believe me, if I had genuinely overstayed because of my own actions, I would not hesitate to pay it.
“This is not about the money. It never has been. This is about fairness.”
Natalie claimed that she appealed the fine, but that her application was rejected and only a “generic response” given in return.
A second appeal was, according to her, subsequently rejected on the basis that she did not call the company’s helpline (which is displayed on the car park’s signs) on the day, though she insists she was not aware of the number.
G24 did not respond to a request for comment.
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Jacob Jaffa
