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An angry motorist has blasted a parking company for issuing a legal challenge after a simple mistake.
Clare Marsden claims she has been threatened by bailiffs and charged a whopping £277 fine after typing in the wrong registration number when parking.
Clare claimed she had paid the correct parking fees when she stopped at the Smyth Street car park in Wakefield city centre.
But, Ms Marsden was caught out when the company asked her to provide a number plate.
She accidentally left the details of her personal vehicle which was being repaired and not the courtesy car she was driving at the time.
Clare was issued a £75 fine for the mistake and immediately got in touch with Excel Parking Services to sort out the issue.
However, the company reportedly turned her away despite providing proof she had paid the necessary charges.
Speaking to ITV News, she said: “I realised the mistake I’d made. So I got back in touch with them and said ‘really sorry, it’s my mistake, I will pay half the fine’. They turned around and said no.”
Clare refused to attend a court hearing about the matter in Northampton while her charge has since been increased by over £200.
She added: “It’s horrendous if someone comes and knocks on your door and says ‘what have you got in the house that we can take?’
“It’s also shameful to think that I’m being pursued by a bailiff just for a car parking that I actually paid for in the first place.”
Clare even explained that she had been widowed and was being forced to sell her home after the cost of her mortgage quadrupled. Ms Marsden even offered to pay half the initial amount in a bid to settle the issue.
Consumer watchdog Which? claims parking fines tend to be uncontested by motorists who are issued a charge.
Excel’s sister company, Vehicle Control Services, said Clare’s settlement offer had been declined as it was “significantly lower than the amount owed”.
The company claims it is “satisfied that the PCN was issued correctly” after Clare broke the terms and conditions.
They said: “Mrs Marsden input a completely different vehicle registration number to the vehicle she was driving and as such she did not comply with the terms of conditions that were clearly set out on the signage at the car park. Consequently, a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) was issued.
“Mrs Marsden had the option to appeal within 21 days in accordance with the process set out in the PCN but no appeal was received nor evidenced; she only engaged with us when matters progressed to debt recovery. Had she done so at the outset, matters may not have progressed as they did.”
Express.co.uk have contacted Excel Parking Services and Vehicle Control Services for further comment.
