A RETIRED tube driver has won a year-long battle over parking fines and even hired his own bailiffs to recover his legal costs.

Steve Penniston used to travel from his home in Saltdean to Brighton train station to catch a train to work on the London Underground.

The 61-year-old had a season ticket for the train station car park, which is managed by Indigo Park Services Ltd on behalf of owners Govia Thameslink, but problems started when he bought a new car.

He said despite changing his registration details on Indigo’s website, he received more than 20 fines for £60, which increased when he failed to pay.

Steve said he phoned Indigo to explain that he had a season ticket.

He said: “It got to the point where they said I owed them more than £5,000. I was getting demands from ZZPS, which is part of Indigo, who threatened bailiffs on me if I didn’t pay. It was making my wife sick, we had a holiday booked but she didn’t want to go in case bailiffs broke in while we were away. With the problems with the trains between Brighton and London and this parking issue, I applied for early retirement in January.”

Steve got Martin Cray and Co solicitors in Brighton involved, who managed to get his fines cancelled.

Steve said: “I asked if they thought I could recover my legal costs from Indigo, and he said I could but it would take a long time.“But I decided to go for it. I represented myself in court, and the judge gave Indigo a county court judgement to pay £377 for legal costs and compensation. When they didn’t pay, bailiffs got involved and a couple of months later Indigo paid me in full.”

A spokesman from Martin Cray and Co said: “These penalty notices are intimidating, inflexible devices which can play on your conscience and are all too often accepted without challenge.“Consumers may not realise that there are further steps that can be taken in defending these charges, even after exhausting the parking company’s appeals process, such as independent appeals adjudication.Regardless, you should never assume that your evidence will speak for itself. Seeking early advice can avoid the matter escalating by testing the company on their charge. An Indigo spokeswoman said: “If customers feel they have been issued a penalty notice incorrectly we advise them to appeal in writing.”

A Govia Thameslink spokesman said: “Although Mr Penniston held a season ticket, the car he parked on 22 days from Feb 17 to April 3 2017 was not registered to his ticket, and a penalty notice was issued for each instance.

“He contacted our parking management contractor, Indigo, on March 31, following which the car was registered to his season ticket on April 7, and all the penalty notices were cancelled.

“Indigo have no record of being notified that Mr Penniston had made a claim for costs through the court. His solicitor contacted them later, informing them that the case had been heard in Indigo’s absence and Mr Penniston had been awarded costs. Indigo sent a cheque to the court to settle the claim. Following The Argus’s contact with us about this case in March this year, Indigo checked with the court to find that the cheque had not been received, and then paid the amount immediately over the phone.”