Greggs coffee ends up costing Hartlepool customer an extra £281 after parking fine

Gas engineer Rob Parker was issued with a £70 parking penalty after calling into the bakery, on the Belle Vue Way shopping parade, last October.

But letters, including the threat of bailiffs and informing him of the outcome of court action, was sent to his address more than 200 miles away in Shrewsbury.

Rob, who works during the week in the North East and is trying to buy a house in Hartlepool, says he only learned of the situation in June by which time the cost had risen to £281.

He received the penalty for parking next to a kerb in the car park when it was full while he nipped into Greggs for a morning coffee, which costs around £1.80.

Rules of the car park – which is managed by parking company Parking Group – state you must park in a marked bay.

But Rob said: “There’s no yellow lines or sign there to say to say ‘This is not a parking space’.”

He says he did not receive an initial letter from the parking firm about the violation and the first he knew about it was when he later opened two letters from bailiffs.

The second dated April informed him a County Court Judgement (CCJ) had been made and that he owed £281, which he subsequently paid.

Rob, 65, who previously served in the Army for 25 years, said: “I commute every couple months until I sell my house and move back to Hartlepool.

“If you are going to threaten people with bailiffs and courts, surely you have got to sign for them at the minimum.

“When I opened the letters I had a three-month CCJ on me and couldn’t contest it. I think it’s wrong.”

He has since warned a number of other drivers in the car park and is due to raise the issue with MP Jonathan Brash later this month.

Rob added: “People are being squeezed to the hilt with mortgages, bills and everything else, and these companies can send out fines left, right and centre.”

The Mail has approached Parking Group for a response.