A man was sent a £255 parking charge after stopping his car to read a sign at an airport. Andy Smith said he stopped to read a sign in what was a 'No Stopping' zone earlier this year.
Mr Smith had driven two friends East Midlands Airport the night before they were due to fly in January this year. They planned to check in their baggage and stay in the Leonardo Hotel to save time.
He said the entered the drop-off zone at around 5pm and paid the £5 drop-off fee so that his friend Derek Sleath, 75, could drop the luggage off. Mr Smith, also 75, then drove to the hotel in the airport grounds to drop off Mr Sleath's wife, reports Nottinghamshire Live.
Mr Smith said he wasn't sure of the drop-off arrangements at the hotel and saw there was a barrier. He said he stopped for less than a minute as he approached it, to read a parking sign. He said it was tricky as it was dark and raining at the time.
A few weeks later Mr Smith received a Parking Charge Notice for £100, stating that he had stopped on a red line. It later increased to £255, as he did not pay it while he tried to make an appeal with a view to taking the matter to court. However, on Tuesday, July 11, East Midlands Airport confirmed that it would be cancelling the fine after being contacted by Nottinghamshire Live.
Mr Smith initially described the situation as "ridiculous", adding: "I was absolutely staggered that I should be charged for stopping to read the hotel’s notice. It’s outrageous. We have the receipt to show we paid the drop-off fee and a letter from the hotel confirming the booking. I’ve complained to the parking company, used their appeals process, and complained to East Midlands Airport. It all falls on deaf ears.”
Mr Smith said he understood that passengers must only be dropped off in the drop-off zone, but he did that, and then didn't know the policy for dropping off a hotel guest. He feared that he might have to go to court to sort the situation out and felt as if the airport was punishing "two confused pensioners, who simply stopped momentarily to read a sign having already paid the drop-off fee".
He added: "If the sign isn’t supposed to be read, why is it there? It could not possibly be read while driving past it, as it contains too much detail.”
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Speaking about the situation, Mr Sleath described it as "just unbelievable." He explained that the sign had a lot of information on it, which would be "impossible" to read without stopping and felt that the no stopping system was "ridiculous" and didn't work in that area, as people would still have to stop at the car park barrier for the hotel.
After several weeks going through paperwork and trying to appeal the matter, Mr Smith described the situation as "frustrating and distressing”. However, he now felt "relieved" that the airport had decided to cancel the penalty.
An East Midlands Airport spokesperson, said: “Having reviewed the footage of Mr Smith’s vehicle movements, we have instructed Vehicle Control Services (VCS), which enforces no waiting on red-routed airport estate roads, to cancel the fine. We apologise for the inconvenience that this has caused him.
“Controlling traffic flow across a busy airport site is key to keeping visitors safe. For this reason, airport estate roads are red-routed and 'no stopping' signage is clearly visible to discourage drivers from waiting in undesignated parking areas when dropping off and collecting passengers.
“All drivers have a choice of drop-off and pick-up parking at the airport. Waiting for 15 minutes in rapid drop-off costs £5, while 30 minutes parking in short stay 1 car park is £6. One hour’s free parking can be had in Long Stay 2.”
Regarding the decision, Mr Smith said: "I feel relieved, but I also feel angry that there must be a lot of other people that could have been taken advantage of and have paid the fine when they could have been in similar circumstances to me. If it hadn't been for the Nottingham Post it might have gone to court and I might have had to pay over £200 for stopping for 53 seconds.
"I want to make other people aware of this and to stick to their guns." He added that he was "really grateful" that the situation had been resolved.
