Hi there - another question about this!
I have read a lot of the stories and saw a lot of advice just to ignore the ticket but I am worried about doing this and just want to check if you think I still can in my situation.
I will tell you exactly what happened. Please tell me what you think.
I went out for a meal yesterday in Crystal Palace and, as Sainsbury's was right next to the place, decided to see if I could park there. It was a free car park so I began to drive in, looking around to try to make sure it was alright. As soon as I did this another car came right up my backside preventing me from going anywhere else or seeing the sign. So I went in and parked. I could see no problem with it and went to meet my friends.
When I got back at 11 the car park was locked up. It was only then that I saw it closed at 9pm. There was no one about to ask. Luckily, I was able to get a lift home.
Today I could only get a lift back there after 1pm, which I know may seem a bit unreasonable but I thought it would be OK. I got there and found a Euro Car Parks ticket on my car. To be honest, I just felt so relieved it hadn't been clamped (had that before and couldn't go until I'd paid £205 ).
I didn't look at the ticket properly until I got back home. Annoyingly, if I had got there this morning, it appears I wouldn't have received the notice. It says today's date from 10.45am to 12.58pm. Typical!
So, I obviously WAS in the wrong to do what I did (and I feel bloody stupid!!) but should I pay them? From what I've read I'm not sure. I don't have a full time job at the moment and this is not helping my financial situation. However, I don't want to risk ignoring it only to be forced to pay even more money in the future.
It says they will pass my details on to a third party and the DVLA if I don't pay up. What would happen if the DVLA got involved?
Really worried!
