A single mum-of-three has accused a private parking firm of having 'no humanity' after she was fined £260 for parking in a parents...
A single mum-of-three has accused a private parking firm of having 'no humanity' after she was fined £260 for parking in a parents' space and leaving her kids in the car.
Rachel Bailey-Everest, 45, used the special parking bay twice in four days to use a nearby shop - once to buy her poorly son medication.
But she was shocked when she received the fines because she left her three children in the car instead of taking them with her to the store on the two occasions.
Ms Bailey-Everest tried to appeal against the fines but was told that she had failed to comply with the parking terms by failing to take her children out of her car.
Rachel, from Cringleford, Norfolk, said: "I feel so annoyed. It's just an easy way of making money out of people.
"I just saw a parents' space and parked there.
"I thought that will do, my boy's not well and I need to get in and get home.
"There's no leeway and no humanity.
"With three children, that's a lot of money for 20 minutes' parking."
Ms Bailey-Everest said she first went to the car park at the East of England Co-op in Norwich, Norfolk on August 24.
She said: "My little boy was not very well at the time and he had fallen asleep in the car."
She said she decided to leave three-year-old Benjamin with older sisters Sofia, aged 10, and Amalia, aged seven, while she popped into the shop.
Rachel added: "I thought the space was close to the store so one of the girls could come and see me if they needed to.
"I think I was in the store for about eight minutes."
The mother returned on August 28, using the same space and leaving her three children in the vehicle for around 11 minutes.
A few days later, the stay-at-home mum said she received a parking charge notice (PCN) from National Parking Enforcement (NPE), which manages the car park.
It told her she had to pay a fine of £100.
Shortly afterwards, she received another PCN, but did not check the dates on the letters and assumed they were both for the same incident.
She appealed against the fine, but it was turned down.
Rachel then received another letter saying she had not paid the second fine, and was being charged an extra £60 for debt recovery agents' fees - totalling £160.
She said: "I didn't even know it was against the rules to leave your kids in the car in a parents' parking space.
"I went back and read the small print on the sign and it did say you've got to be accompanied out of the vehicle by a child under the age of 12. I admit I didn't see that.
"But the photos they sent me of my car in the space showed two other free parents' spaces.
"I think the system is just there to get money from people, 100 per cent.
"They're not interested in reasoning or sensible explanations. It just seems they're trying to catch you out."
She added: "I've got nothing against the East of England Co-op but I won't ever go to that store again."
National Parking Enforcement manages more than 400 car parks across the country.
NPE said it provided details in the appeal rejection letter on how to further the appeal to the Independent Appeals Service, but that this was not done.
A spokesman said: "As the charge remained unpaid for a month after the letter of rejection was issued, the charge passed to our debt recovery agents."
The company spokesman added: "No children exited the vehicle and therefore the driver did not require the extra space provided and should have parked in a regular parking bay."
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