I’m being taken to court six YEARS after being slapped with a £70 parking fine – don’t get caught out like me

A MUM has been summoned to court SIX YEARS after being issued a parking ticket.

Donna Davies cannot believe her misfortune since the £70 charge reappeared just before Christmas last year.

In October 2015, Donna was three months pregnant with her daughter Sienna after a struggle with infertility.

The “over the moon” mum-to-be excitedly visited the Riverside Retail Park in Norwich to buy baby essentials, Norwich Evening News reports.

But in her elation, the veterinary receptionist lost track of time and went over the parking limit – and she was whacked with a £70 fine.

She said: “I got a letter through the door saying that I had been issued with a fine.

“I called them up, apologised and explained the situation.

“I’d spent £1,000 that day. They said that if I could send my receipts, prove it was a genuine mistake and I had been in the vicinity, they would get back to me.”

The mum, from Little Plumstead, was then “really relieved” when the fine was waived by the ticketing firm.

But her relief didn’t last long after a second letter appeared the following month saying the mum-of-one needed to pay the fine immediately.

Left in total disbelief, Donna contacted the company saying it had been waived but she never heard back so carried on with life.

Then, in October 2021, she received the astonishing news that she was being taken to court by the firm.

Donna hammered: “I was so shocked. I had to call the court up to see if it was genuine, I was that taken aback.”

The courts then offered to put her through mediation.

In January 2022, she was told she would have to appear in the dock in April charged with not paying the fine, sending poor Donna’s anxiety “through the roof”.

Then she was told her case had been adjourned, and she has now been informed she is being taken to County Court this summer – and unbelievably there there is no record of the initial adjournment. 

Donna said she has been left “heartbroken” by the ordeal and it is having a massive impact on her life.

And she’s now really worried how she will get through it all as a single mum.

She said: “I’m struggling enough at it is – even without what they’re trying to throw at me. It’s so upsetting.

“I’ve had sleepless nights because of it.

“Facing court is the scariest thing. This is one of the most upsetting things I’ve ever been through.”

A spokesperson for Group Nexus, which operates the Riverside car park, said: “Over the last few years, Mrs Davies has been sent dozen letters from us and our associated agencies.

“We have never received any response or appeal from her until we issued legal proceedings in April last year.

“This can be a long process and we have acted within the legal timeframe requirements.”