A man says he has been left with fines totalling £340 after spending too long eating a meal at McDonald’s with his brother. Shapour Meftah was dished out two £100 penalties - and because he is refusing to pay they have been increased.
Mr Meftah said that after work, as a treat, he went for a meal at the fast-food chain’s Newmarket Road branch. As the pair were chatting they lost track of time and now he has received the penalty notices for going over the 90 minute allocation.
McDonald’s has said that some of its restaurants have parking restrictions and there is a strict time limit so enough spaces are available for customers. Mr Meftah said he had already put several appeals against the fines from private parking company, UK Parking Control saying the signs weren’t clear enough on the time limit. The company claims that he had surpassed the 90 minute allocation for customers at the car park, CambridgeLive reports.
Mr Meftah claims McDonald’s later added a sign on the counter in-store warning customers not to stay longer allotted one hour and a half. However, after six unsuccessful attempts from Shapour to appeal the fine, the parking company has passed on the fine to a debt collection agency and now it has reached £340 in total.
He said: “Believe me I’m not going to give in, we had a McDonald’s, ate, and left, that was it. I’m happy to fight this, even if they take me to court. I’m going to take them all the way.”
Shapour said he has been “infuriated” with the appeal process saying the company have not budged after hearing his argument. He said: “It’s always their terms and conditions, they don’t have any mercy. Debt Recovery have said I need to pay or they’ll take me to court - for the crime of being over 10 minutes coming back to my car for a McDonald’s meal with my brother. I’m willing to go to court, if they try to play with me
“They’re making money from our misery, from a little happiness they’ve made me miserable. At the time there no one inside. The car park was empty.”
A McDonald’s spokesperson said: “We have parking restrictions in place at a number of our restaurants, with a time limit to ensure there is adequate parking for all of our customers. Ample signage regarding these restrictions is clearly displayed both as you drive into the car park and on various lampposts within it.
“If a customer believes they have been issued a ticket incorrectly, they should appeal it as per the parking control company guidelines.” The spokesperson added it is at the discretion of the parking control company responsible on the “outcome of individual cases.”
