I was fined £100 after a parking attendant LOCKED me in

A DRIVER was furious after being fined £100 when a valet locked HER in a car park.

Georgie Lamburt said it was “extremely outrageous” for the land operator, Parkingeye, to order her to pay for their mistake.

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Georgie parked in the adjoining car park of the Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Center in Waltham Forest, East London, to walk her dog Colin last October.

She pays £3.20 for an hour of parking at around 8.30am, returning in 55 minutes.

But when she tried to drive her truck out of the lot, she insisted that all the gates were locked.

She told The Sun: “I paid for the whole hour, but got back to my truck about five minutes before the hour was up.

“I know what Parking is like, so I wasn’t too far away.

“But when I drove out, both gates were closed and locked.”

And at this point, the dog walker was unable to pick up a group of dogs for her next walk – as she forfeited her £150 public pay.

She said: “I was terrified because I knew a lot of people were relying on me to walk their dogs.

“I was devastated because I needed to go to work.”

After more than an hour of trying to text other local dog walkers for help, she finally got hold of a valet’s key.

CCTV showed Georgie still trapped inside the parking lot at 10:14am.

She said: “I told the valet a lot of thanks for coming to my aid, and asked him what time the parking lot actually opens – because there’s no sign anywhere stating the time.

“He said it wasn’t his branch that he opened and that he himself wasn’t sure what time it was open.

“He said it wasn’t my fault that I was stuck in it. You assume the gate is open, the parking lot is open.

“I was so beautiful at this point, I just thanked him for coming and getting me out.”

PARKING MAD

But a month later, Georgie was fined £100, reduced for fast payments, from Parkingeye in the post.

“Honestly, I don’t think about it. I didn’t expect to be fined,” she said.

“There were about five cameras inside that showed I was trapped, it was completely out of my control.”

The company claims that when she signed an agreement to use the land for an hour when purchasing her ticket, it was a “breach of contract” for her to be stuck for an additional hour.

The 28-year-old hailed the fine as “unfair and outrageous”, adding: “At the end of the day it’s 60 quid – it’s not the be-all and end-all, but following principle, I’m just like ‘no, I’m not paying’.

“I think it’s completely outrageous that they made me pay a fine to be trapped inside.”

She also suggested that she buy more tickets to cover her time trapped inside.

I think it’s completely outrageous that they made me pay a fine to get stuck inside.

Georgie Lamburt

Georgie said she initially complained to Parkingeye, who turned down her appeal.

And after appealing the charge through the Private Land Parking Service (POPLA), her attempt to dodge the fine was DONE, she said.

But since being contacted by The Sun, Parkingeye says that the Georgie Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) will be rescinded.

A spokesperson for Parkingeye told The Sun: “The parking lot at Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Center is monitored by an ANPR camera system and has prominent and visible signage giving drivers clear instructions on how to use it. Use the parking lot responsibly.

“During October, the center’s operating hours are from 12 noon to 10 pm and car drivers have received a Notice of Parking Charges for parking outside of these hours. However, after reviewing the case, we canceled the PCN as a gesture of goodwill.

“Parkingeye operates a BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their Parking Charge Notice. If anyone has extenuating circumstances, we would encourage them to make this clear by appealing to Parkingeye.”

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