'Don't just accept parking fines, always check them out'

Maidenhead Advertiser

AN ANGRY driver was baffled to receive a parking fine following a brief half-hour visit to Homebase in Maidenhead.
Alan McQuhae was ordered to pay £80 by UK Parking Control, which is contracted by Legal and General, the landowners of the Stafferton Way site.
The retired engineer says he parked in the car park outside Homebase in Stafferton Way while he popped into the shop on Saturday, September 2.
The first he knew of the fine was when it landed on his doorstep in Old Mill Lane, Bray, last week.
Mr McQuhae, known to friends as Bill, said: “I thought it was from a scallywag trying it on.”
Staff at Homebase were sympathetic and service manager Alex Piercey contacted the company to get the fine cancelled.
Mr McQuhae is urging people not to take a fine lying down: “A lot of people will assume they have done something wrong and not check.
“Homebase staff were very helpful and said they are fed up with it.
“If they hadn’t been so kind I would never have gone back to Homebase again. It could affect their business.”
Mr Piercey told the Advertiser he and a number of staff have also had fines slapped on while they work. He said: “It has happened to about five members of staff. I am OK with it as long as they stick to the rules, but sometimes it seems to be taking the mick. It is a worry, but as far as I am aware this is the only customer I have dealt with.”