A driver has been handed a hefty parking charge notice for eating his McDonald's in a neighbouring Starbucks car park whilst never leaving his vehicle.
In what turned out to be his most expensive drive-thru order ever, Bob Spink was shocked to discover a letter through his door issuing him with a fine of £100 for using one of the parking bays outside the coffee giant for a "mere" 16 minutes.
Bob visited McDonald's in Fabian Way with his girlfriend and when they were unable to find a parking space at the burger chain they opted for the nearby bays outside Starbucks. You can get more Swansea news and other story updates by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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Sharing his subsequent parking charge notice on social media, Bob said he "had not realised these penalties were a thing" and was shocked when others mentioned similar experiences. Now the 50-year-old from Bath has vowed to "not go anywhere near a Starbucks ever again" after receiving the fine letter at his address in Brynmill.
"We had only bought a £12 order from McDonald's and the car park was entirely full so we parked in Starbucks to eat as there was plenty of space. It just feels like legalised theft, I haven't done anything wrong legally," he said. You can read more stories about Swansea here.
The letter he received told him that if he paid the fine within 14 days it would be reduced to £60 so he did so to avoid the bigger charge. A car park firm fined a woman £100 after her vehicle got stuck at a charging point.
"I was baffled by it, we have just moved here and it's something you can't ignore as it only gets worse and increases the fee. I shared it in the hope of making people aware and steer clear of the chain. We hadn't even left the car, the premise of a car park is to invite people in and it just feels like a con and I don't understand what they are trying to achieve and it doesn't look great for the chain to use a parking enforcement with such tactics," he added.
People commenting on his shared image of the parking offence also told of similar stories with some arguing, "it's shocking they are allowed to do this", while others said it was a "lesson learnt the hard way" and conceded to paying their own fines.
Starbucks uses National Parking Enforcement LTD at its branch located in Fabian Way. The parking company is located in Borehamwood and is criticised in reviews on Google as a "horrible company only looking to take innocent people's hard earned money". It has a one star rating.
Starbucks acknowledged that the parking offence notice was the responsibility of National Parking Enforcement Ltd and declined to comment further.
WalesOnline has approached National Parking Enforcement Ltd for comment.
