Father who was fined £250 after he took 19 minutes to buy a parking ticket because he was changing his daughter's nappy WINS his appeal

  • Simon Baker faced court after he spent 19 minutes in car park without a ticket 
  • The 36-year-old from Cornwall was threatened with county court judgment  
  • Brought a counter-claim against the firm and is now £180 out of pocket
  • Was not awarded court costs as both his and company's claims thrown out 

Simon Baker (pictured) has won his appeal against the penalty

Simon Baker (pictured) has won his appeal against the penalty 

A father who was slapped with a parking charge for taking 'too long' to buy a ticket while changing a nappy has won an appeal.

Simon Baker went to court after receiving a demand for £100 due to spending 19 minutes waiting to buy a ticket as he was tending to his young daughter.

The 36-year-old of Looe, Cornwall, refused to pay the penalty charge notice issued by Britannia Parking, and said the firm subsequently threatened him with a county court judgment.

The drainage engineer and his wife entered the car park at Sutton Harbour in Plymouth, Devon, at 11:02 in the morning, but didn't purchase a ticket until 11:21.

He said it took a while to find a parking space and his six-month-old daughter also had to have her nappy changed. He refused to pay the PCN and launched his own counter claim.

District Judge Jonathan Stone has now quashed the penalty charge after ruling in Mr Baker's favour following a short hearing at Bodmin County Court.

Speaking outside the court after the hearing Mr Baker said he was 'over the moon' with the decision, even though he is now £180 out of pocket for pursuing the counter claim.

He said: 'They (Britannia) said I failed to make a valid payment, even though I paid for a parking ticket for three hours.

'I received debt letter after debt letter and was threatened with county court judgments if I failed to pay. By then the charge had risen to around £250.

'It wasn't until three weeks ago that they were trying to do me for the 19 minutes it took me to enter the car park and to purchase a ticket. What's an acceptable time to buy a ticket? I could have been in a wheelchair.

'I spoke with their solicitors and told them I would see them in court, as it's about time someone stood up to these bullies.

'I had to pay the £180 counter claim, and then there was the loss of work, I could have just paid the ticket but that's not the point, it's just the principle.

Mr Baker was slapped with a fine at this car park because he took too long to get a ticket while tending to his daughter

Mr Baker was slapped with a fine at this car park because he took too long to get a ticket while tending to his daughter 

'It's been stressful, this has been rumbling on for two years. We're trying to remortgage the house and when we're getting threatening letters, it's not good. Avoid Britannia.'

A solicitor representing Britannia Parking told the court that Mr Baker had taken an 'unreasonable period of time' to purchase a ticket, adding that he had also refused to engage with them.

The solicitor said the onus was on Mr Baker to be aware of what the parking terms and conditions were, and that he was bound by the terms on the signage in the car park.

But Judge Stone ruled that the terms and conditions relating to when a period of parking begins was not made clear.

'There is no disputing the fact he parked at Plymouth Sutton Harbour car park and purchased a ticket for three hours,' Judge Stone said.

'The claim arises because Britannia says he didn't buy a ticket for long enough. The criticism is over how long he took to purchase a ticket.

'The case hinges on one key question; is it sufficiently clear to the customer purchasing a ticket that the time started to run the moment they entered the car park, or the time started to run the moment they purchased a ticket? Mr Baker assumed the latter.'

Judge Stone said the terms were not made apparent on either on the signage or in the small print, and therefore dismissed the claim, ruling that Mr Baker was not in breach of the parking terms.

Mr Baker made a counter claim for £5,000, which was also dismissed due to a lack of evidence. As both claims were unsuccessful, neither party was awarded court costs.