Pregnant woman who went on to lose baby fined £100 for pulling into carpark

A pregnant woman who pulled into a McDonald’s car park after feeling faint has been forced to pay a £100 fine for overstaying the time limit. Mother-of-four Kimberley Terry stopped at the fast-food restaurant in Orbital Park, Ashford, Kent, as she feared she would pass out at the wheel.

She and her mum, Dawn Wicks, then spent about two hours at the site until it was safe for her to drive again - unaware there was a strict 90-minute parking limit. Days later, the 35-year-old, who was 16 weeks pregnant at the time, received a £60 penalty notice from Met Parking Services, which operates the car park.

Her mum, who was not insured to drive the car, appealed the fine, explaining the circumstances and offering to provide bank statements to prove they had made repeated purchases during the visit. But the company rejected the appeal, saying its decision had been made “after careful consideration” of the facts and any mitigating circumstances.

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Mrs Wicks, from Greatstone, says the firm showed no compassion, particularly after later learning her daughter had lost her baby at 20 weeks and endured a traumatic stillbirth. “They should have shown a bit more sympathy, without a doubt,” the 57-year-old said.

“Kim was feeling really faint. With all her previous pregnancies, she just collapses or she passes out, but they've never found any reason why. So, it was just a case of waiting for it to wear off. We were there for around two hours and just waited until it was safe for her to drive again.

“On a normal visit to McDonald’s, we wouldn't spend any longer than 30 minutes in the car park. There's nothing else around there. It's not the sort of place where you would park and go off somewhere. I even asked if they had CCTV so they could see we were in there buying drinks and things. But they didn’t care - they just kept rejecting the appeals.”

In one response letter, Met Parking asked for medical evidence to support the claim Mrs Terry was unwell, such as proof of a pre-existing condition or records of advice from a doctor at the time. But Ms Wicks says they had not sought medical help on the day because previous experiences had shown that resting for a while helped her daughter overcome the issue of feeling faint.

She later told the company about the miscarriage and stillbirth, but a further appeal was also turned down. “They didn’t show an ounce of compassion,” she added. “One of their rejection letters even came through while Kim was in the hospital being induced.

“You wouldn’t just tell them something like that to get out of a parking ticket if it wasn’t true. It was horrendous – absolutely horrendous.”

As the dispute dragged on, the fine rose from £60 to £100 before it was finally paid. Mrs Wicks continued: “Met Parking Services kept sending letters and emails saying she had to pay the fine.

“The last letter was getting a bit nasty, saying they’d told us their decision and wouldn’t read any more appeals. She really couldn’t afford it. She’d taken on a maternity cover contract in teaching but hadn’t looked for another job because she thought she’d be going on maternity leave. £100 is a lot of money – and after everything, it was just so heartless.”

“I don’t normally do things like this, but I was just so angry after all that she’s been through,” Mrs Wicks added. “They could have checked the CCTV or accepted the bank statements. It wasn’t like we were taking advantage – my daughter was ill. We were treated with no compassion at all.”

In a letter, Met Parking Services told Ms Wicks in its response that the terms of use at Orbital Park are “clearly stated on signs prominently displayed around the site”, including the 90-minute maximum stay for customers. The firm added that it was the driver’s responsibility to check and comply with those terms.