A woman was fined after parking in her own parking lot

A disgruntled resident of a gated community in Stockport says she was fined for parking in her own residents’ parking lot.

Donna Hefferon, 40, lived in a flat at Marsland House in Stockport with his wife Lisa, for 12 months. She says that under her rental agreement with Johnnie Johnson Housing Community, which owns the properties, she can park in the residents’ parking lot. She has a permit which she displays on the windshield of her vehicle.

But she says she was fined when the laminated license fell on the windscreen and was not clearly visible.

A £170 ticket has been issued for the alleged breach which happened on November 13 last year. Donna says she refuted it, but was told the appeal time was up and it was too late. She says she is now being sued by a debt collection agency.

The recovery letter states: “On 11/13/2021 the vehicle was parked at the site but no valid permit was clearly displayed and a PCN was correctly and legitimately issued as a result.”

She says: “We live in a gated community and have a key fob that opens the doors so cars can get in. I had my permit posted on my windshield. The laminated permit had fallen off the windshield and wasn’t fully visible but could I pay a resort fee for maintaining the grounds and grounds and it’s in our rental agreement where we can park.

Donna says she approached Johnnie Johnson Housing Community, who said they knew other tenants had been similarly affected and had provided each with a permit holder to stick on the windshield of the vehicle to keep the permits from slipping or being blown on the floor, and they said they would look into the matter.

However, Donna said she felt like they had been “dismissive” of her fate. She says, “I’m pretty gutted about it now, it’s going to affect my credit rating if I get a CCJ. I disputed it but it puts pressure on my marriage.”

The ticket has since been cancelled, a spokesperson for the firm said.

After the MEN contacted a housing community Johnnie Johnson, a Marsland House spokesperson said: “Marsland House has limited parking, so to prevent the wider community from parking in the parking spaces reserved for customers, Johnnie Johnson Housing consulted with residents on setting up a parking system for permit holders, voted on by residents, and the system has now been in place for several years.

“The local area Community Housing Officer is responsible for issuing permits to residents. Permits should be clearly displayed on the windshield of the car to prevent a parking ticket from being issued. occasion the permit is forgotten or slips, when this happens we ask the resident to contact her community housing officer immediately so that she contacts the parking enforcement team to verify that she has a permit and that the ticket can be revoked.

“However, if Community Housing The officer is not informed that this has happened, the parking enforcement team continues their process and a fine may be issued. As soon as we become aware of a problem, we intervene to try to solve it. Our Community Housing Officers will always strive to work with our residents to ensure they receive the support and assistance they need.

“In this instance, we spoke with Donna Hefferon and then contacted the parking enforcement team on her behalf. As a result, the ticket has been waived and the matter is now closed. We apologize for any stress or inconvenience what this may have caused Donna Hefferon and can confirm that there are no outstanding fines.”