Dad boycotting McDonald's over £100 fine for exceeding parking limit

McFuming! Father vows to boycott McDonald’s after being fined £100 for exceeding 90-minute parking limit during his daughter’s ninth birthday party

• Nick Forrester was fined after parking at the Festival Park chain for 107 minutes 

A father has vowed to boycott McDonald’s after he was slapped with a £100 fine for exceeding the 90-minute parking limit during his daughter’s ninth birthday party.

Nick Forrester, 45, claims he and his mother both received penalties after parking at the fast food chain’s Festival Park branch for 107 minutes.

Mr Forrester, from Abbey Hulton, said there was nothing to indicate that they had been fined while eating at the establishment and they later learned of the violation via a letter sent in the post. 

The cemetery worker has slammed McDonald’s and the parking authority it uses for having ‘no compassion’ and says they way they treat their customers is ‘disgusting’. 

Mr Forrester took his daughter Sadie, nine, and her friends to McDonald’s in Stoke-on-Trent after they spent time playing at a nearby children’s amusement centre.

Nick Forrester, 45, has vowed to boycott McDonald’s after he was slapped with a £100 fine for exceeding the 90-minute parking limit during his daughter’s ninth birthday party. He is pictured with his daughter, Sadie, in 2020

‘We pulled onto the Maccies car park after being at Just Kidding and got out of the car. We went into Maccies and it took ages to choose,’ Mr Forrester recalled.

‘We managed to get out, got into the car, drove off, and we thought nothing of it. A few days later, my mum rang me and said she had got a letter saying we had overstayed.’

Mr Forrester phoned McDonald’s, requesting to speak to a manager, and was informed that parking fines are handled by ParkingEye. He was instructed to contact the company directly to appeal.

‘I ended up paying the fine,’ he told MailOnline. ‘I didn’t appeal to parking eye as it’s completely pointless and and I decided I didn’t want the hassle.’

He is frustrated that the company issued him a ticket while ‘we were eating in the establishment’.

‘It is a relaxed environment and 90 minutes is not long enough,’ he argued. ‘They can check the CCTV and they will see that we were in the restaurant.’

Mr Forrester said he has been going to the Festival Park branch for over 30 years and is completely shocked by the ‘disgusting’ treatment they received.

‘It left me feeling very bitter towards them,’ he said of the restaurant, adding that he will be boycotting McDonald’s and ‘anywhere that uses ParkingEye.’

‘Sadie lost her mother to cancer in 2019 and now she can’t go out for a meal with her friends,’ he stated.

‘They have got no compassion. It is disgusting how they have treated their customers. I know McDonald’s can overturn it but they won’t.’

He added: ‘They are driving people out of the city with this.’

Nick Forrester, 45, claims he and his mother both received penalties after parking at the fast food chain’s Festival Park branch (pictured) for 107 minutes. He claims there was nothing to indicate that they had been fined while eating at the establishment and they later learned of the violation via a letter sent in the post

McDonald’s says it has signs in its car park highlighting the 90-minute parking limit.

A McDonald’s spokesman told MailOnline: ‘We have parking restrictions in place at a number of our restaurants, with a time limit to ensure there is adequate parking for all of our customers. 

‘If a customer feels they have been wrongly ticketed, we would encourage them to immediately get in touch with the third party contractor who issued the ticket by way of appeal.

The spokesman added: ‘In some instances where a customer expects to exceed the stated parking limit, they should make themselves and their car registration known to the restaurant manager in advance, who can look to get the parking limit extended.’

Car park operator ParkingEye also said it stands by its decisions.

A spokesman said: ‘The car park at McDonald’s Festival Park features prominent and highly-visible signs providing information on how to use the car park responsibly. This includes guidance on how McDonald’s customers have a maximum stay of 90 minutes. 

‘The motorists correctly received parking charge notices (PCNs) due to each of them parking for 107 minutes. Our records show that both PCNs have been paid without appeal.

‘Parkingeye operates a British Parking Association audited appeals process which motorists can use to appeal their PCN. If anyone has mitigating circumstances, we would encourage them to highlight this by appealing.’

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