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, an IT project manager, said: “I find it astonishing that there can be a parking restriction, as I have now discovered, of only one-and-a-half hours at a retail park.

“It is easy, especially as there is a cafe in there, to spend longer than that just at B&Q, let alone visiting any other of the stores at the retail park at the same time.

“I further fail to understand the purpose of a three-hour return ban. Surely I’m not the only person who has needed to return to B&Q in the same day after getting home and finding there is something else I needed?”

Kevin was determined not to pay the fine, so court proceedings began against him.

Kevin said he wanted to make other people aware of what could happen. He said: “Don’t shop twice at B&Q.

“I have written to B&Q to put them in the picture as I trust that it will cause them concern that a legitimate customer is being treated in this way.”

A spokesman for Excel said:

“There are numerous signs at the car park specifying the terms and conditions to park there.

“These are one and a half hours maximum stay, no return within three hours.

“It also states that failure to comply with the following will result in a parking charge notice being issued.

“Mr Cook insists he visited the car park on two separate occasions that day and was not parked there continually.

“However, even if this was the case, Mr Cook would still have been issued with a parking charge notice as he was noted entering the car park at 11.16 and on a receipt Mr Cook provided as evidence to Excel of his visit in the afternoon, the time states 14.06, which indicates that Mr Cook returned to the car park within the three hour no return period.

“We do not wish to deter genuine customers from using the retail park and will therefore cancel the said parking charge notice.”