Abbey Wood commuter with £0 parking ticket gets chased up for non-existent fine

Josh Woodley, 40, had to laugh because her silver Ford Focus was ticketed in New Road, Abbey Wood, despite her having paid £3.80 to park via text.

The garment technologist thought nothing more of it until she received a letter from Bexley Council on January 15 demanding she pay her £0 fine.

The mother-of-one says she only parked where she did before heading to Abbey Wood to station catch a train to work on November 27, because the Crossrail development has made it difficult for commuters to find spaces.

She told News Shopper: "I got back to my car at about 7.30pm to find a yellow envelope stuck to my windscreen.

"At first I was furious because I knew I had paid but when I actually looked at it, it had ‘no pounds, no pence’ on it.

"There is a part of me that wants to send a cheque to them for no pounds, no pence but I don’t want to waste a stamp."

Mrs Woodley, of Milford Close, Abbey Wood, added: "There’s obviously nothing in their computer system which recognised there was a fault there.

"For me it’s not a major issue – it’s actually hilarious.

"I don’t know how much it costs them to post these things – they could be better using the funds for more important things."

Contractors NSL employ parking attendants on behalf of Bexley Council.

A council spokeswoman said: "A new parking scheme was operating in New Road, Abbey Wood, and as standard practice, warning notices carrying a zero charge were being issued at that time.

"However, in this particular instance, our records confirm a parking session had been arranged and paid for via mobile phone.

"Therefore, the notice was issued in error and has been closed. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to the motorist.

"Due to the error, a penalty will be imposed against NSL in accordance with our contract provisions with them."

An NSL spokeswoman said: "Mistakes are rare but sometimes they are made and we are penalised for them."