FANS of McDonald’s could be hit with a £100 fine for this little-known parking rule – make sure you don’t get caught out.
Reports have emerged that visitors to the fast food restaurant on Newmarket Road, Cambridge, have been slapped with several penalty notices after they exceeded the 90-minute parking time limit.
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One man who has been hit by a fine says he was penalised for “eating his food too slowly”.
Shapour Meftah had gone to meet his brother at the outlet but was left shocked when the visit became “the most expensive McDonald’s” he’d ever had.
He’d parked up outside the McDonald’s branch and ordered “quite a bit of food”.
However, he thought nothing of it until he got two penalty notices through his letterbox a few days later from a private parking company.
UK Parking Control says Shapour exceeded the 90-minute time period allowed for McDonald’s customers to stay in the car park.
Shapour was issued with two fixed penalty notices for two visits on the evening of January 4 and 6, 2023, respectively.
The charges total £100 and if he doesn’t pay them within a week then they rise to £100 each.
Shapour said: “It was parking from hell – the most expensive McDonald’s I’ve ever had.
“There’s no sign inside McDonald’s that says you have 90 minutes to sit down, eat and go. You don’t want to rush your meal and we ordered quite a bit of food”.
Shapour went to McDonald’s to appeal the penalty notice he had been given.
However, he said: “There’s no way you can get help from them.
“I tried talking to them and they said it was nothing to do with them. There’s no way on earth they’ll help you”.
Explaining the regulations at their car parks and fixed penalty notices, a representative from the company said that it’s at the discretion of the parking control company responsible on the outcome of individual cases.
They said: “We have parking restrictions in place at a number of our restaurants, with a time limit to ensure there is adequate parking for all of our customers.”
That means customers at other McDonald’s branches could be hit with a penalty charge.
People are advised to check with the outlet in order not to fall foul of the rule as different restrictions could be in place.
The McDonald’s rep added: “Ample signage regarding these restrictions is clearly displayed both as you drive into the car park and on various lampposts within it.
“If a customer believes they have been issued a ticket incorrectly, they should appeal it as per the parking control company guidelines”.
The advice from MoneySavingExpert says if you get a ticket from a private parking firm which you believe is unfair, don’t just pay it automatically.
An extract on their website states: “Private parking companies have no official right to fine you, though they may try to make you think they do.
“All they’re doing is sending you a notice of what they deem to be a breach of contract.
“It isn’t the ability of private companies to issue tickets in itself that’s a problem though. It’s the unstructured system which puts unnecessary power in potentially unscrupulous hands”.
Shapour has put in an appeal for UK Parking Control to revoke the penalty notice.
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