A pensioner has said he felt “entrapped” after receiving a £200 fine for overstaying 20 minutes in a Bromley car park while waiting for the RAC after his car broke down.

Alan Bishop, 72, visited M&S in Beckenham back in January with his wife to do a food shop.

When leaving the shop, the pair were surprised to find that their car would not start.

After three other drivers in the car park attempted to jump start his car, Alan called the RAC who told him that they would arrive in around 270 minutes.

Instead of waiting outdoors, as it was snowing at this point, Alan was anxious to get his wife home in the warm.

He told the News Shopper that he called his neighbour who came to pick the couple up and take them home.

Alan borrowed a jump start kit from a friend, returned to the car park and managed to start the car.

He said: “I left the car park and thought nothing of it.

“Four days later, I get a fixed penalty notice from Euro Car Parks saying that I had overstayed by 20 minutes or so and it was an £85 fine – if you want to contest it here’s the email address.

"I contested it explaining exactly what had happened and that I had no gain in staying there, they lost no revenue etcetera. I didn’t hear more about it so I thought it’s fine, it’s all gone away.

"Then, three weeks ago I got a debt recovery letter saying that I owed money and it had gone up from £80 to £155.”

Alan contacted M&S and Euro Car Parks, but it quickly became apparent that the fine had been passed along to a debt collector and was beyond the stage that he could contest it.

After five months of hearing nothing, Alan was shocked to be threatened with court action.

He added: “I thought the appeal had been accepted and it had gone away but five months later I’m getting letters from the debt collecting company.

“Euro Car Parks have washed their hands of it now, they have passed it onto the debt collecting company – they don’t care.

“They don’t listen to how vulnerable you are and how we didn’t do it for any gain, we didn’t do it on purpose.

“It’s the unfairness of it all.

“The fine in itself is nothing really, it was originally £85 but if I paid it in 28 days it was reduced to £50 so back then, had my appeal failed I could have paid the £50 but I didn’t know.

“That’s my grievance, the lack of communication between the car parking company and myself up until June – nothing."

He said he wanted people in Beckenham and Bromley to know about the 'traps' that are out there. 

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He added: "This is an entrapment. It’s treating the vulnerable in this world purely for money.

“I have done nothing wrong, I’m a secure, honest and straightforward person.

“It’s quite distressing. It’s not even the money, it’s the injustice.

“If I had done something wrong I would hold my hands up, but this was out of my control, the car wouldn’t start, the RAC was called but they were going to be over three hours at best, it was snowing and I needed to get my wife home.

“The irony is, I was 22 minutes overstayed. You get 90 minutes and I was just over two hours and they want £200 for 20 minutes.

“It’s July now, you forget how vulnerable you feel when you go out dressed for shopping not prepared to stand outside like you are in the arctic.”

Alan even turned to his local MP, Sarah Jones, who he was grateful called him and after hearing his story, contacted Euro Car Parks on his behalf.

The News Shopper contacted M&S and Euro Car Parks for a comment, and the fine has been withdrawn as a result.