Excel Parking: Sheffield firm ordered to pay £10k after fining driver £11k using 'five minute' rule

Hannah Robinson, aged 21, regularly parked her BMW in the centre of Darlington, County Durham, while working at a nearby steakhouse

She would pay up to £8.50-a-day to leave her car in the 650-space Feethams Leisure multi-storey facility.

Despite tickets proving she paid, Hannah was hit with 67 fines totalling £11,390 since 2021 for failing to buy a ticket within the five-minutes allowed by Excel Parking Services, which runs the car park.

It introduced a 'five-minute' window to crack down on drivers dropping people off inside the car park without paying.

But in a court hearing on March 26, Excel Parking's original claims against Hannah were dismissed and it was ordered to pay £10,240.10 costs to charity.

Speaking to the BBC, Hannah, from Eaglescliffe, County Durham, said: "Following the court hearing, I feel relieved and a massive weight has lifted from my shoulders.

"It has been extremely stressful and frustrating; I constantly worried what letters I was receiving or who was going to knock at the door after the threats.

"I feel happy that they [Excel Parking] are getting a taste of what it felt like for me."

Hannah was stunned when she received the hefty bill last month claiming she owed fines dating back to March 2021.

She added: "I knew about the five-minute rule and knew I sometimes couldn't pay within it, however I've shown proof of the app not working and cash machines nine out of ten times not working.

"I've tried and practically begged to speak to someone about this as I knew I was going get fined, but I've just been ignored.

"I have sent tonnes of emails, but then I got a letter adding them all up from 2021 for the times I couldn't pay within five minutes and billed me.

"It is 3G in that car park and I feel sorry for people with babies or disabilities who can't pay in five minutes. It's a joke."

Hannah racked up a whopping £11,000 in fines after refusing to pay the firm.

According to the BBC, Hannah received a court claim asking her to pay the £100 PCNs, plus a £70 debt collection for each, and various other costs.

Excel Parking later applied to amend this claim so they could pursue 11 different PCNs.

But at the hearing, district judge Janine Richards dismissed this application, and also dismissed the original claim, and said she found Excel's "conduct in relation to this litigation was both unreasonable and out of the norm".

Hannah had free legal representation but the judge made a pro bono costs order.

This means that Excel Parking will have to pay the winning party's legal costs to a charity called the Access to Justice Foundation.

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Excel Parking Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In February, Excel Parking was banned from demanding £100 from motorists for taking too long to pay.

Regulator International Parking Community said firms, including Excel, could no longer target drivers who took more than five or 10 minutes to buy a ticket.

It came after pressure from The Star and MPs including Abtisam Mohamed in Sheffield.