‘We could have paid but it became a moral fight’ – Sheffield vet takes on city parking firm and wins

In February, Deepa Shetty represented her partner David Doncaster in court after he was hit with a £100 charge for parking at the Berkeley Centre on Ecclesall Road in 2019.

The firm which runs the car park, Excel Parking Services, later increased the charge to £185 due to ‘late payment’, and threatened to pursue the claim in court if they did not pay.

However, after Excel’s sister company VCS took the claim to court, it was struck out by the judge who said they had ‘no standing’ to bring the claim as one company could not claim on behalf of another.

Ms Shetty is now urging anyone who received a similar charge not to pay it, after she got help from the community at Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert website and won.

“We could have paid but it became a moral fight in the end,” said Deepa.

"I feel it’s important to let people know this because most people are too frightened to face them in court.”

Deepa said she has also contacted the landowner of the Berkeley Centre, Greg Barraclough, to inform him what Excel and VCS are doing on his land.

She added she had also emailed her MP Olivia Blake and trading standards to ask what further action can be taken.

However, a representative for Vehicle Control Services said the company would appeal the ruling.

They said: “The parking charge was issued as no purchase of the parking tariff was made for the period the vehicle parked beyond the free 1 hour period; neither the vehicle keeper nor the driver engaged with our appeals process and as such the case progressed to court.

“Whilst the judge dismissed our claim, he did so without regard to a previous ruling made by a Senior Judge who found that Vehicle Control Services Ltd did have the necessary authority to issue and recovery parking charges at the Berkeley Centre car park.

“This case has therefore been referred to the Senior Judge for review. We consider it important for readers to be aware of the situation in order to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding and false hopes in defending or ignoring parking charges relating to the Berkeley Centre car park on the basis that Vehicle Control Services Ltd has no vested authority.”

The car park became notorious in Sheffield after a change in regulations - from two hours free parking to one - caught dozens of drivers out in 2019.

Some have fought the claims in court and won but it is thought many simply pay for fear of incurring even bigger charges.

Deepa added that the Government is about to change the law to improve protections for motorists from private parking operators.

Sir Greg Knight MP has been tasked with rolling out a new code of practice for the industry by the end of 2021. A single appeals service will follow by mid-2022.

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.