A PENSIONER was left fuming after being hit for a £100 fine just for doing his washing.
Patrick Foley, 66, parked outside the Welcome Inn, Manchester, to pay £6 to wash his clothes in the self-service machine.
A pensioner was hit with a £100 fine just for doing his washing
The pensioner parked outside the Welcome Inn Pub while his clothes were washed and dried
He paid £6 to wash his clothes in a self-service machine
But the hospital porter was shocked to be slapped with the hefty fine just days later.
Patrick received a £100 fine in the post because he had parked his motor at the Bury Old Road car park without being a pub patron.
Patrick, who lives opposite the boozer and drove because it was raining, appealed the fine and insisted he had been a pub patron as Revolution Laundry was on their site.
The 66-year-old told the MEN: “I can see the pub from my house and I couldn’t miss the fact that they’d recently installed a massive, drive-in laundrette next to the pub.
“I normally take my washing to dry at the local laundrette but, of course, now that there was a new facility – which opened in November – directly opposite the road from me, I thought I would pop over there and give it a try.”
Patrick claims he initially paid £3 for a 15-minute cycle, before needing to pay for another dry cycle as his clothes hadn’t properly dried out.
As it was raining that day, he said he decided to wait in his car for the machine to finish for about 40 minutes.
Patrick said: “It was drizzling at the time and I didn’t want to stand around waiting for the clothes to dry so I waited in the car.
“Ultimately, the clothes were still damp after two cycles so I just took them to my local laundrette in the end anyway.
“I made a mental note to myself not to bother using the laundrette again because it was rubbish.”
Just before Christmas, Patrick received the penalty notice and filed an appeal online explaining the circumstances to why he had used the pub’s car park.
But the hospital worker was left stunned after his appeal was initially rejected.
“On January 10, I got another letter through the door to say they had considered my appeal and decided to uphold the parking charge notice,” he said.
“They said I am not a patron of the pub but I believe I am a patron of their facilities. The dryer is on their site, the pub knows it’s there.
“How are you supposed to use the laundrette without a car? It’s likely that many people are going to sit and wait in the car.”
I could have dried it at my local for £2 and it definitely taught me a lesson not to use it again anyway.”
Patrick Foley, 66
Teetotal Patrick has never visited the pub despite living next door for 32 years and branded the charge “ridiculous”.
He said: “I cannot believe they still upheld the original charge.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous that it’s not occurred to them that the person using the laundrette is the patron of the pub. It’s on their ground.
“Why should I have to go to all the hassle of uploading, downloading and compiling evidence for a poxy £6 worth of washing that didn’t even get dried properly?
“I could have dried it at my local for £2 and it definitely taught me a lesson not to use it again anyway.”
Smart Parking, who issued the fine, has since cancelled it as a gesture of goodwill.
However, Patrick issued a warning to other drivers over the threat of parking fines.
He said: “I won’t be using it again, it’s a c**p service. But I’m sure they should put a notice up saying you might be charged for using the washing machine.
“I think more people should be aware that just because you use the laundrette then you might still get fined.
“I have seen other people park up to use the washer and I’ve had to go over and warn them that they will get fined £100 if they sit and wait.”
A Smart Parking spokesperson said: “Smart Parking were brought into manage the car park using our state of the art ANPR parking management system which monitors car entering and exiting.
“Patrons who use the facilities at the pub can park for free by simply registering on a tablet in the pub. These terms and conditions are clearly highlighted across a number signs both in the pub and car park, and numerous customers use the car park everyday without any issue.
“In the case of this particular motorist they parked without registering so correctly received a charge. However as an act of good will this has now been cancelled.”
Khadeeja Paul, Head of Marketing at ME Group UK, which owns Revolution Laundry, said: “We’ve spoken to the site owner on this occasion and they’ve agreed to have these hours formally extended.
“Our Customer Relations team have also seen to having this parking penalty cancelled. We have also done this on previous occasions.