A former police officer has been fined £100 for parking at a car park in Sutton Coldfield where his stay should have been free. Keith Butlin, 68, drove from his home in Derbyshire to visit his brother-in-law at Good Hope Hospital the day before he died.
On Monday, February 23, after the hospital visit, Mr Butlin and his wife parked at the Newhall Walk car park in the town centre. They went for a coffee and bought £27 worth of items at the nearby B&M store. This amount would have qualified them for three hours of free parking at the Birmingham City Council-owned site, which is operated by Excel Parking Services Limited.
To be cautious, Mr Butlin still paid £1.50 for an hour of parking. However, at the start of March, he received a £100 penalty charge notice. The notice stated that his Nissan X-Trail entered the car park at 2.21pm and left at 3.44pm, a total of one hour and 22 minutes.
Mr Butlin provided proof of his £1.50 payment and a receipt for his £27.06 purchase at B&M. He even contacted B&M, which reached out to the parking firm to confirm the purchase and his entitlement to free parking. Despite these efforts, his appeal was rejected.
Refusal to Pay
Mr Butlin has refused to pay the fine and is prepared to take the matter to court. He is not alone in his frustration. The Newhall Walk car park has become notorious for allegedly unfair fines, with a Facebook group dedicated to sharing similar experiences.
In a Facebook post, Mr Butlin warned others: "Beware when parking here. Lots of people are getting £100 fines even when shopping at B&M, Aldi, and TK Maxx or even when paying for parking because the in-and-out cameras are not registering the correct time with the parking meters."
He added, "It's council-owned land, but they refuse to intervene with appeals. There is a Facebook group called 'Unfair Parking at Newhall Walk Car Park, Sutton Coldfield' where people share similar stories. I'm currently waiting for a summons to attend court as I intend not to give in to the bullying of Excel Parking."
Personal Impact
Mr Butlin told BirminghamLive: "I went to the machine, put in my registration number, and it said I owed £1.50. I paid and left in under ten minutes. I was only in Sutton because my wife's brother was terminally ill in Good Hope. He died the next day. We had gone to see him and then went into Sutton for a coffee and looked around. I then spent £27 in B&M. It said three hours free parking for customers."
He continued: "Since I posted on Facebook, I've had 320 people reply, and 50 to 60 said they had the same thing happen. Some have paid it, others fight it. Some are told if they pay £20 the parking company will drop it. Others have taken it to court and won. One issue is there is no barrier, so people don't know they haven't paid the right amount until a week later when they get the charge."
Mr Butlin, who lives on his pension, said: "We can't afford £100. If I had done something wrong, I would put my hands up and pay. But if you have done nothing wrong and are still penalised, that really gets the hair up. I would be happy to spend a day in court."
Excel Parking Services Limited was contacted multiple times but had yet to respond.
