Driver fuming after being fined £100 for ‘pulling up outside Holiday Inn during family emergency’
A motorist who was ‘forced to pull off the M6’ to deal with a family emergency was slapped with a £100 fine. The driver claimed they were hit with the parking penalty for taking a 15-minute phone call outside a Holiday Inn in the Midlands.
Ranting on TripAdvisor, the driver said they had come off the motorway at junction 15 to take a call. They said they used a lay-by outside the North Staffordshire hotel and deliberately avoided the car park.
However two weeks later, they received the fine, StokeonTrentLive reports[1]. They claimed they tried to call the hotel, in Clayton Road, Newcastle-under-Lyme[2], to explain but had “no luck”.
The one-star TripAdvisor review said: “Due to a family emergency I was forced to pull off the M6 motorway[4] at junction 15 to take a phone call. There is nowhere to park in the area so I pulled up at the Holiday Inn. I ensured not to enter the car park, parked outside the hotel itself in the layby, and took the call for approximately 15 minutes.
“Two weeks later I received a £100 fine. I tried to contact the hotel via phone on a few occasions with no luck. After doing a bit of research it seems that I’m not the only person to fall victim to this.”
A reply from the hotel said: “Thank you for choosing our hotel and for taking the time to provide feedback about your experience, and for always choosing our hotel brands for your stay. Holiday Inn provides the best lodging experience for every guest, and I’m sorry for the issues during your stay.
“I will be sharing your feedback with our hotel management for review. I’ve also sent you a private message to discuss this further. We hope to regain your trust and confidence in our service. We hope to regain your trust and confidence in our service.”
Our sister title, StokeonTrentLive, has approached Holiday Inn Stoke-on-Trent for comment on the situation but has not received a response. There are several other posts on the review site from disgruntled drivers who have received fines at the hotel.
“I am currently disabled and picked up a parking fine for picking my wife up from a conference that she was attending,” one user wrote last month. “I was on the car park for less than 30 minutes and received a parking notice for £60.” A response from the hotel said: “I want to offer our sincere apology for the issues you encountered with our parking fine. Your honest review is critical, and I will share this with our appropriate hotel team to take necessary action.”
Poll: Should pavement parking be banned?[5]
Another wrote in February: “I received a £60 parking fine for a 56-minute business meeting stay. After I had spent money on coffees. Won’t use this hotel again. It is a shame as I have used this hotel several times before due to its convenient location just off the M6. There has to be a better way of managing parking at this location.”
“I am sorry if you received a parking fine,” the hotel responded. “I have alerted the hotel management about your comments. We look forward to having the opportunity to share a more positive experience in the future.”
References
- ^ StokeonTrentLive reports (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
- ^ Newcastle-under-Lyme (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Cruel yobs ‘torch community hub in late-night arson’ leaving staff devastated (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ M6 motorway (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Should pavement parking be banned? (data.reachplc.com)