A driver is calling for an apology after Enfield Borough Council charged her £110 for another person’s parking ticket.
Lois Martin, who lives in Bournemouth, was more than a little surprised when she received a letter in the post on Saturday asking her to cough up for parking her silver Hyundai Sonata in a loading bay in Fore Street in Edmonton.
The saleswoman had not visited London in December when the ticket was issued, and she has not driven through Enfield for many years.
On closer inspection, the 45-year-old discovered the fine is for a silver Hyundai Coupe with a number plate just one letter different to her own.
She said: “I have a friend who used to live in Enfield so I have been to Enfield before but when I got a parking ticket I was a little bit shocked.
“It is only when I went on the website and had a look at their evidence that I realised it is a totally different car.
“It’s ridiculous. Maybe it’s an automated system or something? I’m not sure.
“But the bottom line is, it’s not my car.”
She says her car was parked at her home more than 100 miles away in Bournemouth when she was supposed to have overstayed her welcome on December 22.
As soon as she received the letter, she panicked as she thought someone may have cloned her plates or borrowed it without asking.
However, she realised she was off work on the day accused and she is now blaming number plate mix-up on the council’s incompetence.
She is challenging the fine, and it is expected to take between two to three weeks for the council’s parking services to assess her claim.
She added: “If you think about it, if it happened to an old person without a computer, they would just think they had to pay it. I was stunned. I told them I expect an apology.”