A GRAN has slammed car park bosses after she was charged a whopping £170 for staying 65 seconds too long.
Angela Jones, 60, said that she was forced to ask a friend to help her pay the fine which left her feeling “humiliated”.
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The 60-year-old parked her Nissan Juke in Kings Heath High Street car park, Birmingham, but was unsure about how to pay for her spot.
A fellow motorist told her that she needed to download an app to pay, but Angela quickly deleted it from her phone as she was concerned that it could be a scam.
QR scams have become increasingly common in the UK, with crooks using fake codes to lead drivers to dodgy websites.
Once drivers enter their payment details, the criminals then drain their accounts.
Angela left the car park at 15:29:50, believing that she was still within the free five minute parking period.
However, unbeknownst to her, she had overstayed by 65 seconds, leading her to be slapped with a £100 fine.
She appealed to Parking Charge Collections Ltd (PCC) but had her appeal rejected.
That launched a legal battle which almost “finished” Angela “off”, as she was already struggling to pay her bills despite working three jobs.
Sadly, her plea was rejected a second time after she did not correctly verify her email address with the IAS.
After receiving a letter from solicitors acting on behalf of PCC demanding payment, Angela said she felt “intimidated” to pay up.
Angela, who has five grown-up children and one granddaughter, said: “It affected my mental health greatly and left me in the position where I was so scared that I paid it before any legal action was taken.
“I was waking up in the night, terrified there would be bailiffs knocking at me door.
“I had to borrow the money from a friend which was humiliating.”
Eventually, Angela contacted her MP Bradley Thomas who contacted the trade association for private parking firms, the International Parking Community (IPC).
After several weeks of letters being exchanged, Angela’s fine was eventually cancelled but, weeks on, she is still waiting for a refund.
In light of the events, IPC said it is working to ensure private car parks do not hand out similar fines.
PCC has been approached for comment.
It comes as a woman revealed how she was scammed out of £100s at a car park after scanning a fake QR code.
In a video posted to social media, the duped car owner picked at a QR code sticker over the top of the real QR code.
Quishing: QR Code Scams
QR code scams are becoming increasingly common in the UK.
What are QR code scams?
QR scams are often referred to as as “quishing”.
They involve scammers placing fake codes on car park signs and in shops, which lead shoppers to fake websites.
Then, shoppers are encouraged to enter their payment details.
This allows the crooks to drain hundreds of pounds from your account.
One driver thought he was being charged 90p before noticing that he had been automatically subscribed to a recurring £39 payment.
AVOID SCAMS
If you see a QR code in a public place, there are some steps that you can take to avoid getting scammed.
- Signs of tampering: Check to see if a code looks as though it has been placed over the original. The code stuck onto the sign is likely to be fake.
- Checking the URL: If the URL that the QR code takes you to doesn’t match the one on the parking sign, it’s probably fake.
- Use the official app: Using the official app for the car park or store will help you pay the company directly. This stops a scammer from intercepting your money.
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