Pensioner Fuming Over £170 Fine for £1 Ticket Due to Broken Machine
An elderly man is outraged after receiving a £170 fine for a parking ticket he couldn’t buy due to a faulty machine
Hornchurch, Essex, Parking Fine, Berkeley Bathurst, One Park Solution
Hornchurch: A pensioner is really upset after getting hit with a £170 parking fine. He claims he tried to buy a £1 ticket, but the machine was broken. Berkeley Bathurst, who’s 75, was just trying to park when he found out the ticket machine wasn’t working. To make matters worse, he didn’t have his phone to pay another way.
After a quick trip to the Post Office, he got a nasty surprise in the mail—a £100 fine that quickly jumped to £170 with threats of legal action. Mr. Bathurst, a retired gardener, is not backing down. He’s calling the parking operators “gangsters” and is frustrated that they expect him to fix their machine.
He said, “How could I pay if the machine wasn’t working? I tried to appeal, but they rejected it. I’m not paying because I refuse to be ripped off. This has stressed me out so much. Where am I supposed to get £170?”
Feeling overwhelmed, he added, “It’s not my job to keep their machines running. They think I should’ve found another way to pay. That’s just ridiculous. We won’t tolerate this kind of treatment.”
On October 16, Mr. Bathurst parked at Elm Park car park for a quick errand. He tried to buy a ticket but saw a ‘Not in use’ message. After running his errand, he was shocked to find a fine waiting for him weeks later.
At first, he ignored the fine, but things escalated when debt collectors got involved, adding a £70 fee and threatening court action. They even warned him about extra charges if he didn’t pay up.
As Christmas approached, his anxiety grew. He shared, “They sent a letter saying I owed them £170 just three days before Christmas. It’s disgraceful to send that to pensioners. We worried all Christmas about bailiffs showing up.”
But he’s determined not to give in. “I’m not paying it. We’ll fight this all the way. It was just a pound. It feels like a scam. They’re like the mafia: ‘Pay up, or else.’ They’re just ripping people off.”
His wife, Angela, 73, also criticized One Park Solution, calling their actions “tyrannical,” especially for such a small charge. She said, “It seems like money is all they care about. He was barely gone for ten minutes.”
The couple, who have lived in Hornchurch for 30 years, are now warning others to be careful when using that car park to avoid similar fines.
One Park Solution hasn’t commented on Mr. Bathurst’s situation yet.