A man was fined £100 for charging his electric car outside of McDonald's.
Amar Tanna, 36, had driven to the fast-food join in Hinckley, Leicestershire, and needed the power to get back home to Coventry.
When he arrived at McDonald's, the branch's car recharging station was in use so he had his lunch and then plugged in his vehicle.
He told LeicestershireLive : "The rate they were charging was extortionate as it was - twice the cost of electricity I'd paid before while charging my car.
"But I needed to charge it up or I wouldn't be able to get home."
He paid more than £35 for the electricity and went on home.
Mr Tanna was then shocked to receive a parking fine for £100 through the post.
He contacted InstaVolt, the electric charging provider, to ask if had been fined for being in the car park when he was paying for electricity the whole time he was there.
Customer services executive at InstaVolt Katherine Binks wrote back: "Unfortunately the parking restrictions are managed by a third party, which means that the existing parking restrictions still apply to our customers even when using our charging stations."
She added that InstaVolt's signage at its stations stated: "that existing parking restrictions still apply".
She also said this information was included in the frequently asked questions (FAQs).
The message continued: "We appreciate the inconvenience caused by these fines and have supplied you with a ‘Proof of Charge’ letter containing your charging details to help with your appeal, should you wish to appeal the notice.
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"We hope your appeal is successful and if you require any other information, please let us know."
Mr Tanna appealed as advised and was unsuccessful.
He said: "I also wrote to McDonald's but the trouble is they have a separate parking company dealing with enforcement.
"I don't think I'll get much of a response [from the parking enforcement company]. The parking company are the usual kind of business - hard to get hold of with a one-page website."
In a letter, McDonald's told Mr Tanna there was nothing they could do.
The letter stated: "As a company, putting in place enforcements within our car parks is only done after careful consideration and very much as a last resort. Primarily, we use parking measures to ensure there are spaces available for our customers’ vehicles, as well as to deter unwarranted or unreasonably prolonged usage of the facility.
"I can confirm this parking area is managed by an independent company who are responsible for monitoring the car park and taking details of registration numbers. The regulations and signs at the restaurant clearly state the policy and the relevant charges.
"I trust you will appreciate that in order to maintain a consistent approach; we have to adhere to the guidelines in place regardless of whether you were in the restaurant for the duration of the stay or not. As such, in a situation such as a clear contravention of parking regulations, we are unable to deal with any specifics or cases on an individual basis. Suffice to say, if a customer contravenes the clearly displayed parking regulations, they will receive a ticket."
Civil Enforcement Ltd has a number on their website but a parking ticket number is required to get through.
