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Big Mac and Large Fines

Further to your reader's letter regarding a £50 penalty at MacDonalds near Heathrow, I too suffered in the same way, this time because my order was forgotten and by the time I had received and eaten it, the one-hour limit had passed. I wrote both to MET services and MacDonalds but they wouldn't budge, instead inferring that I was making up a story. This annoyed me intensely. I have paid the fine "WITHOUT PREJUDICE" and I am all for taking MacDonalds to court on the basis that their poor service resulted in me suffering consequential costs (i.e. the fine). I would be grateful if you would forward this email to PM of Kineton and if he chooses to get in touch with me we can fight MacDonalds together. (I have the name of the MD should it be useful).

Asked on 10 October 2009 by

Answered by Honest John
Have done so. You should challenge the parking enforcers to take this to court where they will lose. It is plainly unreasonable of MacDonalds to fail to serve you your food in time to meet its own
carparking rules. Amounts to extortion. Customers who park in their carparks must at least be given time to buy and consume the 'meals' they serve up and a dated and timed receipt should be enough to prove this set against the timings on the car parking ticket.
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