DIY dad’s Huddersfield B&Q parking fine wiped

Jun 24 2009 by Katie Grant, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

DIY dad’s parking fine wiped

KEVIN Cook’s DIY job looked like it was going to cost more than he was anticipating.

Instead of a couple of pounds for a few brackets and screws, he was facing a £100 fine and a court case.

The Golcar man was slapped with a parking ticket after a mix-up at B&Q.

He wrote various letters and made phone calls to explain the situation to parking company Excel, but they refused to budge. But thanks to the Examiner the company have now waived the fine.

Kevin said: “I had a letter saying I was going to be taken to court.

“But I presume that after the Examiner got involved they’ve seen my side and cancelled the case.

“Thank you very much.”

The father-of-three had parked outside the store on Leeds Road on the morning of May 15. He couldn’t find exactly what he wanted in order to fit a new bookcase in his bedroom, so went home to reassess the job.

After lunch, the 58-year-old returned to the shop and bought what he needed, spending about 45 minutes inside.

It was when he came back out to drive home that he found he’d been stung with a £60 fine.

Kevin told the parking attendant what had happened and gathered the matter had been resolved, but days later he received a letter from Excel saying the fine had increased to £100 because it was unpaid.

Excel told Kevin he had exceeded the one-and-a-half hour parking permission at the site and was told there was a no-return policy after three hours.