A disabled man given a huge parking fine despite claiming he has been penalised for not being physically able to return to his car says bailiffs were banging on his door at 7am demanding money.
Ian Richards, 57, feels he has been badly treated by his local council after the fine reached £424.
He says made a genuine mistake by parking in a space that became a taxi rank after a certain time in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
Mr Richards said his disability meant he could not get back to his car quickly enough. He appealed against the initial £60 fine, issued in November 2021, but the council rejected it.
The matter escalated to the point where Ian was shocked to receive a 7am visit recently from the council’s debt collector, demanding he pay all the amount owed - or have some of his possessions removed.
He told GloucestershireLive : “I think it’s disgusting. I told the council I was really sorry and that I didn’t realise it had become a taxi rank.
“I’m getting penalised, because I’ve got a disability. I could understand it if I was fully able - that would be my own silly fault. But I’m not and it’s out of order.”
He said that, ironically, he used to be a taxi driver but did not know that the spaces in that part of the street are only for taxis after 6pm. And he said that it was only a few minutes after that time when he returned to his car, having struggled to walk up the hill on a windy day.
He said his poor health meant that he could barely walk at times and that even when he could, he couldn’t walk far.
He has diabetes and had a kidney and an attached mass removed in 2018. Medication he takes can sometimes affect his memory and he said part of the reason for his fine growing so much from the original amount was because at one stage he forgot to deal with it properly.
He said he had been willing to pay the fine gradually, in instalments, but this had not been arranged and the debt collector insisted on being paid the whole amount.
Mr Richards, who had displayed his disabled driver’s blue badge when he parked his car in the street, has a full-time carer - Corinne Cleverley. Like him, she believes the council has been very unsympathetic towards him.
She said: “I think it’s outrageous that a disabled person is being penalised for not physically being able to return to their car in time. In my opinion the ticket should have been overturned when it was appealed.”
She added that Ian had thought he had set up a payment plan to settle the fine, only to find that his memory issues meant he had not done so.
A spokesperson for Gloucestershire County Council said: “A penalty charge notice was issued at 6.44pm because Mr Richards’ vehicle was parked where a taxis only restriction applies after 6pm.
“We wrote to him on several occasions, including four statutory notices, to let him know that the penalty charge would increase over time if left unpaid, and encourage him to contact us to avoid the charge being referred to bailiffs.
“Bailiffs are only ever used as a last resort and we would ask that he now contacts them as soon as possible to find a solution.”
