Visitors to Derby Costa Coffee handed £100 car park fines in error

A new Costa in Pear Tree has been expensive to visit for some drivers

Visitors to a new Costa Coffee in Derby may have been handed £100 parking fines in error, a councillor has claimed.

Sinfin and Osmaston councillor Sarah Chambers issued a warning after she was fined following a visit to the branch at Foresters Leisure Park.

She said the site's parking policy was not in line with Costa's opening hours and her fine was overturned.

Costa said the issue had been resolved and fines issued incorrectly had since been removed or refunded.

Ms Chambers received a letter informing her that she had visited the site off Osmaston Park Road, also home to a KFC, during restricted parking hours between midnight and 10:00 BST.

Her visit on 17 April started shortly after 09:00, with Costa opening at 06:00, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

She said the coffee shop opened for the first time 11 days earlier on 6 April and that the parking rules were "not in line with business opening hours" of 06:00 to 19:00.

Ms Chambers said her fine was overturned after she complained to parking company Civil Enforcement Ltd.

She said signs at the car park have since been changed to reflect Costa's opening hours but she fears others may have been wrongly fined.

Signs have this week been updated

Ms Chambers said: "My concern is, how many people have paid their PCN based on original signs and the rules that were in place in line with KFC's business opening hours only?

"Are these people going to get a refund?

"I would urge anyone who has paid a PCN, in this period, for this site to go into Costa to request a refund.

"This has caused a lot of distress and inconvenience for the local community who just wanted a coffee."

Costa Coffee said it was aware of the situation but said it had been resolved with those receiving parking charges having them removed or refunded.

A spokesperson for Costa Coffee said: "Like many large retailers a number of our stores are located within or alongside privately-owned car parks. Whilst the car parks are open for use by Costa Coffee customers they are owned and operated by a third party who manage the terms and conditions around how long a car can be parked there.

"In this situation, the car park in question is contracted to a neighbouring business. However, Costa Coffee customers who had received a parking fine at our store on Foresters Way have either had this removed or, if they paid, have since been refunded."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service and the BBC were unable to contact Civil Enforcement Ltd for comment.