Cathryn and Gareth Bartley, from Solihull, overturned a fine they were falsely given for ‘overstaying’ at McDonald’s
A bungling parking firm tried to bill two grandparents £100 for ‘overstaying’ at a McDonald’s when they had spent most of the time at a different shop two miles away – as they proved by showing the receipt.
Cathryn and Gareth Bartley, 65, left McDonald’s in Solihull after two minutes because they could not find a space and drove to the local Toys R Us before returning to eat more than an hour later.
But the couple were handed a penalty charge notice five days after the visit on August 8, with MET Parking Services falsely claiming they had spent nearly two hours at the fast food outlet.
MET provided images of the Bartley’s car arriving in the car park at 12.50pm and leaving at 2.47pm to suggest they had exceeded the hour and a half time limit.
The pair, who had been in the car with their three grandchildren, Rowan, 5, Mia, 2 and 22-month-old Maisy, were told to pay £100 or half if they paid within 14 days.
But the Bartleys proved they had left the car park shortly after arriving before only returning at 1.55pm by producing a Toys R Us receipt time-stamped at 1.37.
MET provided images of the Bartley’s car arriving in the car park at 12.50pm and leaving at 2.47pm, falsely claiming it was evidence they had exceeded the hour and a half time limit
Mrs Bartley told MailOnline: ‘There was no way we would spend that amount of time eating at a McDonald’s.
‘Anyway, the branch is just by itself off the A34 so it is hugely unlikely the parking would be abused at a place like that.
‘I didn’t understand why we had been fined at first – on a trip like that you are confused and having a battle looking after the grandchildren.
‘I think it is alarming because if we hadn’t had our wits about us we would have just paid in 10 days to avoid the increased fine.
The Bartleys proved they had left the car park shortly after arriving before only returning at 1.55pm by producing a Toys R Us receipt time-stamped at 1.37
‘If we had not kept the receipt there would have been trouble.’
On September 6, Mrs Bartley entered the penalty charge number on the Met website, which produced a page saying it had not been dropped.
The Bartleys did not receive a letter or email informing them the fine had been dropped, although Met Parking Services say one was sent.
Mr Bartley, a semi-retired businessman, told MailOnline: ‘I definitely hadn’t got a letter or an email.
‘We’ve been waiting for a letter but I thought they would not write, giving us an extra few weeks to panic.
‘The charge itself was ridiculous, surely they should have realised the cameras would have recorded us leaving the car park on our way to Toys R Us?
‘You would think McDonalds should employ a company capable of running their parking system properly, not one that is slapdash. It doesn’t reflect well on them.’
This map shows the distance between the McDonald’s branch in Solihull and the Toys R Us store the Bartleys visited during the hour and a half parking period
A McDonald’s spokesman said: ‘We have been in touch with MET Parking today and have been told they have responded to this particular case.’ Pictured: The store in Solihull
A MET Parking spokesman told MailOnline: ‘In this instance, Mrs Bartley was ticketed for overstaying the allocated parking time.
Met Parking Services noted that the ticket was overturned on appeal
‘On appeal, the customer provided evidence which showed she may have been issued with a PCN incorrectly, following which her Parking charge was immediately rescinded.
‘Mrs Bartley was sent correspondence of this decision on the 23rd August.’
A McDonald’s spokesman said: ‘We have been in touch with MET Parking and have been told they have responded to this particular case.’