Student fears bill of thousands for using car park
BBCAn A-level student has said she fears having to pay out thousands of pounds after she was repeatedly fined several months after she stopped using a private car park.
Arooj Hussain, 19, believes she used the facility in Dewsbury "between 40 and 50 times" between February and May earlier this year.
Penalty notices dating back more than six months, with fines of up to £100 each, have been sent to her in the last three weeks.
The car park's operators, Liverpool-based Civil Enforcement Ltd, said it was entitled to issue a penalty notice seven months after an offence, but that some would be cancelled as a "gesture of goodwill".
Miss Hussain started using the car park, which belongs to a takeaway but is managed by Civil Enforcement, as it was opposite Kirklees College's Dewsbury campus.
The car park is signposted as being for the takeaway's customers only and limits drivers to stops of no more than an hour.
Miss Hussain, from Batley, said she had been advised to park there by someone at the college and that she was "oblivious" to the signage at the time, believing she could legitimately leave her car.
Although she accepted she was in breach of the restrictions, she has questioned why she wasn't sent the fines at the time the offences occurred, as she would have then stopped using the car park.
The aspiring radiologist said: "28 May was the first time I'd received a PCN (parking charge notice) and that was for parking there on 14 May.
"I thought initially it must be a one-off thing, but then two weeks ago on the Monday I received five parking fines in one day and I've had one every single day since. I know there's going to be more coming.
"It's really stressful and it has really affected me mentally. It's so much money, especially as a student who's only working part-time.
"The first one was sent on time so I don't understand why the others weren't sent on time."
Miss Hussain has estimated the fines might add up to a total of between £4,000 and £5,000, if she receives a notice for every time she used the car park.
Some of the parking notices have been marked as "reminders" even though Miss Hussain said she had received no previous letters about using the car park on the dates indicated.
She has paid out more than £500 in fines so far, but has had no success trying to speak to someone from Civil Enforcement Ltd to query the situation.
"It's a bit sticky the whole situation really, because I don't know how to even contact them to actually talk about it," she added.
"Citizens Advice have been trying to help me find a solution, but because you can't contact (Civil Enforcement) it feels like there's no solution."
In response to the BBC, Civil Enforcement Ltd said five of the notices had already been cancelled following an appeal and it would cancel a further two as a "gesture of goodwill".
A spokesperson for the company added: "It is our standard practice to issue PCNs within 14 days of the date of the parking breach, if not sooner, and 95% of all our PCNs are issued within this time frame.
"We are permitted, under the agreement with the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) and under the Code of Practice, to request keeper details up to six months after the parking event, and issue a PCN up to seven months after the date of the parking event, if circumstances permit."
Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.