"I wasn't there" Sutton man's anger at £170 parking ticket

Michael Green has been battling the charge issued for parking at The Broad Centre, Station Road, Sutton, since December last year and said he is not going to give in and pay.

The Broad Centre, which homes Matalan, Lidl and Pets and Home is across from Croft Primary School where Mr Green’s granddaughter attends.

The 69-year-old said: “I was dropping my granddaughter off at school in the morning on December 4, and we are usually 20 minutes. We left and came back to pick her up.

“They are saying I stayed there for five hours.”

While the carpark run by a company called Highview Parking is for customers only, Mr Green said that while he did not visit one of the shops that day, he does regularly use them.

A company which specialises in the management of unpaid parking charge notices has since contacted Mr Green.

He is now being charged £170 because of “late payment and debt recovery charges”.

The originals fine was £100, which was reduced to £60 if paid in 14 days.

The parking company’s reasoning was the “vehicle was parked on private property, in breach of the prominently displayed terms and conditions”.

Mr Green, who has his own boiler company M J Green Services, said: “I know I wasn’t there.

“I’m assuming their cameras were not working.

“I have been done with parking charges before but I knew that was my mistake –if I have gone over or put the wrong registration in, if I have done something wrong, I pay.

“So many people are bullied into paying the charge.

“Don’t let people frighten you if you are right.

“We were given no chance to appeal it – we were just given the fine.

“I’m not going to pay – I will go all way if I need to.”

Mr Green has also not been sent any images of his car going in and out of the carpark.

He said he is carrying on using the carpark to drop and pick up his granddaughter form school despite the parking notice.

He said: “I’m not going to stop using it.

“You can’t let it stop you from going places, being frightened of a fine.”

Highview Parking, which operate the carpark, has been contacted for comment.