A woman who was fined 67 times by a parking firm took them to court and the firm now has to pay £10,000 to charity.
Hannah Robinson, 21, from Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, paid £8.50 a day to park her BMW in Darlington while working at a steak house.
Despite having tickets to prove that she paid for her parking, Hannah was fined £11,000 by owner of the car park Excel Parking Services.
She said sometimes this would take longer than five minutes because of poor signal and problems with the pay app.
When she tried to appeal them last February, she was ordered to pay £100 for each of her 67 fines, plus a £70 debt collection fee for each one.
Excel Parking later applied to amend this claim to pursue 11 different PCNs.
It was because of the bizarre five-minute rule – to crack down on drivers dropping people off inside the car park without paying – that Hannah kept getting charged.
Excel’s original claim against Hannah was dismissed in court on March 26, 2025.
![Hannah Robinson'I faced parking firm in court over ?11k and won'A car park operator that demanded ?11,390 in parking charges from a driver has lost a court case and been ordered to pay thousands in costs.Excel Parking, which has been criticised for charging drivers ?100 if they took more than five minutes to pay at a car park in Derby, has been doing the same in Darlington.Hannah Robinson, 21, was among those to be caught out and received hundreds of letters demanding money, as well as repeated phone calls.Excel Parking eventually took her to court for some of the parking charge notices (PCNs), but a judge has now dismissed the claim and told the firm to pay ?10,240.10 in costs to charity.'I feel happy'"Following the court hearing I feel relieved and a massive weight has lifted from my shoulders," said Miss Robinson."It has been extremely stressful and frustrating; I constantly worried what letters I was receiving or who was going to knock at the door after the threats."Miss Robinson had free legal representation at the hearing on 26 March but the judge made a pro bono costs order, meaning Excel Parking will have to pay thousands in costs to a charity called the Access to Justice Foundation.This was the amount her legal team from Keidan Harrison spent defending the case."I feel happy that they [Excel Parking] are getting a taste of what it felt like for me," said Miss Robinson.Excel Parking Services Ltd told the BBC it did not want to comment as it was appealing.](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/SEI_246635365-f347.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
District judge Janine Richards said she found Excel’s ‘conduct in relation to this litigation was both unreasonable and out of the norm’.
The judge made a pro bono bono costs, meaning Excel Parking will have to pay thousands in costs to the charity called the Access to Justice Foundation – the amount her legal team spent defending the case.
Reacting to the news, Hannah told the BBC: ‘Following the court hearing, I feel relieved and a massive weight has lifted from my shoulders.
‘It has been extremely stressful and frustrating; I constantly worried what letters I was receiving or who was going to knock at the door after the threats.
‘I feel happy that they [Excel Parking] are getting a taste of what it felt like for me.’
Talking about the impact of the five-minute rule, she said: ‘I knew about the five-minute rule and knew I sometimes couldn’t pay within it, however, I’ve shown proof of the app not working and cash machines nine out of ten times not working.
‘I’ve tried and practically begged to speak to someone about this as I knew I was going get fined, but I’ve just been ignored.
‘I have sent tonnes of emails, but then I got a letter adding them all up from 2021 for the times I couldn’t pay within five minutes and billed me.
‘It is 3G in that car park and I feel sorry for people with babies or disabilities who can’t pay in five minutes. It’s a joke.’
Excel Parking Services has been approached for comment.
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