Mother-of-two refused to pay 'unfair' £300 parking ticket for two years until she was taken to court - where a judge dismissed the case 'within minutes' and told company to cover her £26 travel expenses

A mother-of-two who refused to pay an 'unfair' £300 parking ticket for two years has won her case in court - after a judge struck out the claim and ordered the company to cover her £26 travel expenses.

Jamie Rock, 47, parked near a hospital in Liverpool for a medical appointment in 2021, only to find the car park's machine was broken.

Instead she bought a ticket over the phone and received a 'parking accepted for two hours' text message in confirmation.

But when Ms Rock came out if the hospital, she was told her parking had not been 'validated', which she claims is because she didn't enter her number plate. 

She said it wasn't until 12 minutes after receiving the text that she was asked to enter her car registration, but by this time it was too late and she was handed a £60 fine.

Despite receiving a handful of letters from Civil Enforcement Limited demanding that she pay the charge notice, the mother-of-two from Lancashire held firm, even when it rose to £300 due to non payment. 

Ms Rock was ordered to attend court where the judge struck out the claim in a matter of minutes and ruled the firm pay her £26 in travel expenses. 

The mental health nurse said: 'I lost count of the letters I got. They did not entertain looking at my evidence. They just called me a liar.

'I was annoyed because it was not my fault. It was their machine. How can they say I have not paid? I put it all through!

'I did everything I was supposed to do. I did everything correctly. It seemed a bit fishy. How many people did they catch out with this faulty system?

'Hundreds of people have paid this fine.'

Ms Rock said she called customer services, but claims there was no option to speak to a person. 

She said she was put through to an automated system which 'hung up' instead, she said.

A week later, Ms Rock started receiving letters demanding she pay a £60 fine.

She wrote back explaining that payment had been 'validated' but was unaware she had to fill in her number plate because she was in the middle of an appointment when she received the text.

Checking her bank after, Ms Rock discovered she hadn't been charged and the fines kept coming.

In her witness statement, she claims she explained the situation to the debt collection firms but was 'ignored'.

She wrote: 'I find this totally unacceptable that I should be held accountable for [the] King Dock car park's inadequate payment system.'

Speaking of her 'win' the mother-of-two added: 'I was quite happy. I felt vindicated.'

She added: 'I felt like I could win and that's what happened'. 

The parking firm’s lawyers failed to attend the hearing. 

Civil Enforcement Limited has been approached for comment.