A driver in the UK has been handed a parking charge notice for using a Starbucks car park to eat his McDonald's, without purchasing anything from the coffee giant.
Bob Sprink, from Bath, received the fine through his post box for £100 (€117) for using the car park for 16 minutes, without leaving his car.
According to the 50-year-old, he took a trip to McDonald’s on Fabian Way in Swansea with his partner, but after failing to find a free space in the fast-food chain’s car park, they nipped across to one outside Starbucks.
After receiving his fine via post, he took to social media and said he "had not realised these penalties were a thing" and was shocked as others responded with their own similar experiences.
Now Mr Sprink says he will "not go anywhere near a Starbucks ever again" after receiving the letter at his address in Brynmill.
He told Wales Online: "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.”
To avoid the hefty fine, he opted to pay quickly for the cheaper sum of £60 (€70) within 14 days.
"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 parking enforcement with such tactics," he added.
People commenting on his shared image of the parking offence told their similar stories with some arguing, "it's shocking they are allowed to do this", while others said it was a "lesson learned the hard way" and conceded to paying their own fines.
The specific parking company, National Parking Enforcement LTD, is located in Borehamwood, England, has a one-star rating on Google, and is criticised in reviews as a "horrible company only looking to take innocent people's hard-earned money".
Starbucks acknowledged that the parking offence notice was the responsibility of National Parking Enforcement Ltd and declined to comment further.
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter.
