A businessman is furious after being fined £100 for supposedly parking in a Huddersfield car park overnight when he was tucked up in bed.

And financial advisor Mark Learmont also wants to know why the DVLA is giving parking companies information such as people’s names and addresses.

The 60-year-old popped into B&Q on the Leeds Road Retail Park on his way home from work in Brighouse on the afternoon of Monday, July 9.

He then drove home to Lindley.

“I only live at Lindley so why on earth would I leave my car down at Leeds Road overnight?"

The next morning on his way to work he stopped off at the retail park to buy a cup of coffee from Starbucks.

He later received a car parking fine from Liverpool-based car park operators Civil Enforcement Ltd claiming he had arrived there at 4.37pm on July 9 and left at 10.32 on Tuesday, July 10.

He said: “I only live at Lindley so why on earth would I leave my car down at Leeds Road overnight? It’s just potty. People are being hammered by this and there is clearly something wrong with their CCTV system that is clocking people in but not out again. It’s just not right and I’ll be fighting this all the way. It’s also put me off going back there.”

This is the latest in a spate of complaints from people who say they have been landed with fines even though they insist they have not committed any parking offences.

Linda Johnsaon from Mirfield was hit with a £100 charge for exceeding the parking limit at the park even though she hadn’t actually parked up at all.

She is now being chased for £200 which includes “late payment and debt recovery charges” after she failed to pay up.

Leeds Road Retail Park. B&Q.

Her problems began in March last year when she decided to cut through the car park while driving to and from her workplace at Kirklees Active Leisure.

Civil Enforcement Ltd claimed that their ANPR cameras showed she had been in the car park for more than the three-hour limit.

Other motorists hit by unfair charges include charity volunteer Joyce Sugden who drove through the retail park on her way to the John Smith’s Stadium. She is refusing to pay the charge.

Huddersfield Town fan Mark Taylor, whose wife dropped him off at the retail park, refused to pay the £100 charge and Civil Enforcement Ltd eventually backed down after he asked to see his file and all evidence under the Data Protection Act.

Leeds Road Retail Park.

The number for Civil Enforcement Ltd goes through to a pre-recorded message asking people to tap in the number on their parking ticket.

There is no email or other phone contact number for them.

The parking company contacts DVLA for the owner details which are provided.

DVLA insists this is not affected by the new GDPR legislation. They charge the parking companies for this but have not revealed how much that charge is.

In its leaflet about release of information it states that a fee is charged to cover the cost of processing requests.

A DVLA spokesman said: “Legislation allows vehicle keeper details to be disclosed to third parties who can demonstrate that they have a reasonable cause to receive it. Reasonable cause is not defined in legislation but the Government’s policy is that it should relate to the vehicle or its use following incidents where there may be liability on the part of the driver.

“All private parking companies requesting vehicle keeper information must be members of an appropriate Accredited Trade Association. Membership of an Accredited Trade Association ensures that parking companies requesting DVLA information operate within a code of practice with a clear set of standards including an independent appeals service. They must also abide by strict terms and conditions and are subject to regular audits, including spot-checks.”