A man has hit out at "parking scammers" after being handed a fine despite having evidence that he was only in the car park for a matter of minutes and never even entered a space.
Jed Dalton has accused I Park Services of attempting to "bully" him into paying a debt he believes he doesn't owe after he was slapped with a Parking Charge Notice after spending just three minutes in one of their car parks.
He's since incurred thousands of pounds in costs trying to fight the fine and has had a county court judgement filed against his name but says he would rather go to prison than pay any money "on the point of principle".
The 50-year-old, from Esher in Surrey, was on holiday with his family in Cornwall on August 16, 2021 when he "had the misfortune" of being caught on camera as he stopped to look at the terms and conditions of a car park in the town of Wadebridge.
Explaining the incident, he told Cornwall Live: "Unfamiliar with the area and car park, I stopped, not in any parking space, exited my vehicle and consulted the local signage to understand the regulations in effect".
Mr Dalton said that in "evidence" presented by I Park Services Ltd he could be seen not parking, but getting out of his car to read the rules of the car park before leaving.
He explained: "I am caught on camera, not in a paid parking space, but adjacent to a free customer parking space, for a total time of 172 seconds.
"Not all of that time was my vehicle stationary and I can be seen leaving the vehicle with the engine running and passengers inside and promptly returning and leaving the area having decided not to park.
"All of this is verified by the 'evidence' supplied by I Park Services Ltd and submitted to me by them."
After receiving a Parking Charge Notice from I Park Services Ltd, Jed "immediately" contacted the company about the incident but received a dismissal of his objections.
He says that he's now been attempting to have "a sensible dialogue" with the company or its legal representatives since August 2021.
"I have responded faithfully to every letter they have sent to me and also contacted them by telephone after each correspondence," he said.
"Both organisations have steadfastly refused to engage in any dialogue and are now, in my opinion, abusing legal process to try to bully me into paying a debt I simply do not owe."
The IT worker added: "I have been harassed and fined by this unscrupulous organisation, in my case, without even parking."
Jed now hopes to be able to defend himself in court and is considering fighting for I Park Services to cover the thousands of pounds in costs he's incurred.
He said: "The next step is me hoping that the court finally allows me to defend the claim and to overturn the CCJ against me. Right now, I have been referred to credit agencies and haven’t even had any opportunity to put my side of the story to a judge.
"If I win and have the judgement overruled, I am minded to fight back against I Park Services Ltd for the expenses I’ve incurred which I estimate to be in the region of £2,000."
"This is supposed to be a free country," Jed added. "I am ready to go to prison on the point of principle before I pay a penny to these scammers."
The Mirror contacted I Park Services Ltd for comment.
