A DISABLED mum is refusing to pay a £100 parking ticket handed out at a Huddersfield retail park.
Louise Downing, 34, of Bradley, parked in a clearly marked disabled bay as she shopped at Mothercare on the Great Northern Retail Park, off Leeds Road, and put her disabled badge in the windscreen.
But when she returned she found a parking ticket from UKCPS – which runs the car park – on her vehicle due to the badge slipping down the windscreen.
Louise, who suffers from Arthrogryposis, which means she has weakened leg muscles, said: “I was shopping with a friend and parked in a disabled bay right outside. I can’t walk far but because my friend was with me I didn’t use my wheelchair.
“When we returned to the car I saw the disabled badge had slipped down and the ticket was on the windscreen.
“We then drove round the car park to see if we could see the ticket warden but there was no one about.
“When I got home I went on the website and emailed the company as they said appeals have to be in writing.”
Despite several emails with UKCPS the company have refused to waive the fine but offered to reduce it from £100 to £44.
Louise added: “Yesterday was the last day at the reduced rate but I still feel disgusted that despite sending photos of my disabled badge they are still pursuing the claim.
“I am a new mum and we had to go through quite a lot to have her and I think given the circumstances that the badge genuinely slipped off the dash board and I was entitled to park in the disabled bay they should waive the fee.
“I wonder how many other people have been fined in this way.”
UKCPS was unavailable for comment but in correspondence with Louise said: “Your vehicle was parked in a disabled bay without having a disabled badge on display.
“By parking the vehicle you have entered a contract to display a valid disabled badge or pay a parking charge of £100 (reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days).
“As you failed to display your disabled badge you were correctly issued with a parking charge which will stand.
“UKCPS is offering disabled badge holders the chance to pay a reduced charge of £44 and a chance to be entered into a membership for disabled users as it is your responsibility to ensure that you clearly display your disabled badge and that it is securely placed and does not fall from the dashboard windscreen.”
Louise – who has a 20-month-old daughter Tabitha – has since refused to shell out the £44 and will now see the fine rise to £100.
A spokesman for Disabled Motoring UK said: “As an organisation we work with parking companies as we feel we have more opportunity to improve their working practices if we work with them rather than against them.
“We know there are issues and people get tickets that should not get tickets.
“However we don’t know all the circumstances in this case.
“Sadly so many people are trying to cheat the system that tickets are rarely revoked anymore.
“She is under no obligation to join our charity and can instead opt for the higher fine or fight the ticket through the courts as she sees fit.
“We just want disabled people to be able to have the choice of a lower fine if the ticket was not revoked. UKCPS only pay a proportion of the membership fee and we cover the rest of the costs.”
