A DAD has revealed he was fined £100 while hosting a birthday meal at McDonald’s for his daughter – and says he’ll never go back.
Nick Forrester, 45, received a hefty penalty fare for exceeding the 90-minute limit while visiting the Festival Park branch in Stoke-on-Trent.
Nick Forrester with his daughter, Sadie, enjoying a day outBPM Media
McDonald’s said there are signs in the car park highlighting the 90-minute limitBPM Media
The cemetery worker, from Abbey Hulton, had earlier taken daughter Sadie and her friends to the nearby Just Kidding before stopping off for a birthday bite to eat.
He said: “We pulled onto the Maccies car park after being at Just Kidding and got out of the car. We went into Maccies, and it took ages to choose.
“We managed to get out, got into the car, drove off, and we thought nothing of it. A few days later, my mum rang me and said she had got a letter saying we had overstayed.
“Straight away, I phoned Maccies and asked if we could speak to the manager. After a conversation, we found out that we had to appeal through Parkingeye. But what a load of rubbish – it is ridiculous.
Nick Forrester revealed that his daughter Sadie lost her mother to cancer in 2019, reports metro.co.uk.
He added: “We were eating in the establishment. It is a relaxed environment, and 90 minutes is not long enough. They are driving people out of the city with this.
“They have got no compassion. It is disgusting how they have treated their customers.”
McDonald’s said there are signs in the car park highlighting the 90-minute limit.
A spokesman says: “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.
“At this restaurant, the time limit is 90 minutes, and we make this clear to our customers with signage in the car park and on various lampposts within it.
“If a customer feels that they have been wrongly ticketed, we would encourage them to get in touch with the third-party contractor who issued the ticket by way of appeal.”
Car park operator Parkingeye claims that he got a fine for exceeding the maximum stay of 90 minutes.
A Parkingeye spokesman said: “The car park at McDonald’s Festival Park features prominent and highly-visible signs providing information on how to use the car park responsibly.
“This includes guidance on how McDonald’s customers have a maximum stay of 90 minutes. The motorists correctly received parking charge notices (PCNs) due to each of them parking for 107 minutes.
“Our records show that both PCNs have been paid without appeal. Parkingeye operates a British Parking Association audited appeals process which motorists can use to appeal their PCN.”
This comes after a furious motorist said he was slapped with a £50 fine for exceeding the time limit in the car park outside McDonald’s by around ten minutes.