Father’s fury at £90 fine after camera snapped his car while he and his family were QUEUING in traffic to leave a McDonald’s Drive-Thru
- Peter Filmer, 34, received the parking fine while waiting at a Kent service station
- The Folkestone resident was driving a rental car he had hired from Europcar
- He planned to dispute the fine, and was hit with a further fine from Europcar
- Mr Filmer is getting all the money refunded after pleading his case
What started as a quick McDonald’s run, soon turned into an expensive pit stop for one Kent man.
Peter Filmer, 34, was slapped with a £60 parking fine while waiting to leave a McDonald’s drive-through at a Whitfield Service Station, near Dover.
Mr Filmer was making the trip, in a rental vehicle from Europcar, from his home in Folkestone to Broadstairs, when he and his wife decided to stop off for a quick drink.
Peter Filmer, 34, was slapped with a £60 parking fine while patiently waiting to leave a McDonald’s drive-through (pictured)
Months later, the father-of-two received a notice from the rental company saying he had been caught illegally parking at the service station.
‘There was quite a queue coming out of McDonald’s onto the service road, but I thought nothing of it,’ Mr Filmer said.
‘I went back up to the service station to see what’s going on as I didn’t park there and the ANPR camera had picked me up in the queue for McDonald’s.’
Mr Filmer wanted to appeal the fine, however he was robbed of the opportunity by Europcar.
Mr Filmer travelled back to the site to find out he was snapped by an ANPR camera (pictured) while queuing
The rental company paid the £60 fine to UK Car Park Management, before deducting the cost from Mr Filmer’s credit card account.
Europcar also deducted a further £30 administration fee for its troubles.
Mr Filmer was charged £90 by Europcar for the inconvenience
‘I never gave permission to do this,’ Mr Filmer said.
‘No one even told me they would be able to take money out of my account whenever they want to with my details.’
After a series of complaints, Europcar was forced to return the £90 on a technicality – it could not locate a signed copy of Mr Filmer’s rental agreeement.
The company still stands by its original decision.
‘The terms and conditions of the company’s rental agreement state that the customer is responsible for any parking fines or penalty charges,’ a company spokesman said.
‘If Europcar receives a fine or [a penalty charge notice] the customer will be invoiced for the fine along with an administration fee.’