A GRAN has been fined £270 after being unable to pay for parking because the meter was broken.
Krystyna Allen, 81, left her car parked for just 11 minutes in July last year before moving it because she was unable to pay at the broken machine.
Just 10 days after the pensioner left her car in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, she received a fine for £100.
Krystyna said she had sent several letters to Smart Parking disputing the fine.
She added that she had explained that she tried to pay some three or four times using both cash and card.
Despite her best efforts however, she was unable to cover the cost of her parking as the machine was out of order.
In response to her letters, Krystyna claims, she has only received more demands for payment from the company.
The former primary school teacher’s original fine of £100 has now risen to a staggering £270.
The pensioner said she had even received letters from debt collectors and has been threatened with court proceedings amid the ongoing dispute.
Krystyna said: “I didn’t have a mobile with me, I don’t use one. Two very kind gentlemen confirmed it wasn’t working by trying their own cards.
“As I’d already been quite a few minutes, they suggested I’d better move my car before I was fined.
“I got back in the car and went and parked across the road at the Arts House car park so I could unload my food that I was offering for a singing event at the church next door.”
Krystyna said the 11 minutes between her arriving and leaving was because she was slow on her feet.
The pensioner, who is from nearby Langley remains determined that she will not be paying the car parking fine.
She branded the debt “outrageous” and vowed that she wouldn’t be bullied into backing down.
Krystyna said she had paid hundreds to park at that car park over the years.
She added that she would never think of parking there without paying.
According to Smart Parking the company’s systems can “handle all payment methods”, The Daily Telegraph reports.
The Sun has contacted Smart Parking for comment.
