A DRIVER is being asked to cough up £1,000 after he was slapped with parking and bus lane fines even though he was in another country.
The Manchester man, who has not been named, says he now has to fork out the whopping £1,000 or he could lose his car for good.
The man was ticketed for driving in a bus lane, and parking on double yellow lines, while he was overseas[/caption]
The 25-year-old was slapped with two fines for parking on double yellow lines, and one for driving in a bus lane, before his car was impounded.
But the man claims he wasn’t behind the wheel, and had no idea what was unfolding, as he was in Greece for three months with his mum.
The man has now dubbed the situation “a nightmare”.
He told the Manchester Evening News: “I now have no car and potentially in a considerable amount of debt and I risk my car being disposed of after it was stolen when I was out of the country.”
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The man said he parked his car outside his home before jetting off 1,800 miles away in June.
But he said when he returned last month his car was gone – so he frantically called the police and reported it stolen.
The police later called him back and told him his car had been found – it had been impounded by the Manchester City Council.
The man says when he phoned the council he was told he had been fined for parking on double yellow lines on two streets – that he doesn’t live on – and also driving in a bus lane.
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He claims the fines were issued in August – while he was still overseas.
The man quickly pulled together bank statements to prove to the council that he was using his card in Crete at the time, as well as his passport with its stamps and his flight tickets.
He said the council also asked to see the report from police on the car being reported stolen.
But even with that, the driver says he was told the evidence was still insufficient.
The Manchester Evening News reported it had seen all the documents.
The man says he is still facing the prospect of having to pay around £1,500 in order to get his car back from the impound, or face losing the car.
He said: “It’s a complete nightmare.
“I don’t know what else they want from me. I don’t really know what else I can do.
“They keep saying it’s insufficient but I’ve given them everything.”
The man said every day his car stays at the impound, the cost to recover it climbs by £12 – and the battle has been going on for weeks.
He added: “This was all of the evidence they had asked for.
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“They have now refused to give my car back to me unless I pay the fine – which I appealed and provided evidence for – without giving me any reason.”
A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: “As this case is still currently under council investigation it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”