A WOMAN who received an unexpected car park charge after a visit to Weymouth KFC has told of her months-long battle to have it overturned.

Donna Anne Pace was astonished to received a Parking Charge Notice from car park operator Civil Enforcement Ltd after an eventful visit to the Jubilee Sidings drive-through earlier this year.

Ms Pace had driven to the branch on March 30 and was on the verge of placing an order when a major power cut struck Dorset, affecting thousands of homes and businesses.

Staff advised her to come back later as the power outage meant they were unable to serve her - so she followed their advice, driving home to return around an hour later after ordering via click and collect online.

But car park operators said she had overstayed the maximum 90 minutes free parking and that they had no record of her leaving and returning - which Donna believes is due to the automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) being affected by the power cut.

Dorset Echo: ANPR cameras at the KFC drive-thruANPR cameras at the KFC drive-thru

She appealed the charge, sending evidence to support the fact there had been a power cut, and that she had left the car park, returned home, and had later placed an online order. But Civil Enforcement Ltd refused her appeal.

"The staff at KFC said there had been a power cut and they didn't know how long the wait would be," Ms Pace said. "They advised me to go back home and come back later - so that's what we did.

"When power came back on around an hour later we returned and placed an order online via click and collect.

"My initial reaction was shock and confusion as to why I’d been issued the fine - when you receive a letter saying 'Civil Enforcement' you automatically think, 'this is really serious - what have I done wrong?"

"Thankfully the Dorset Echo had reported on the power outage so I appealed it, sending a copy of the paper, along with other evidence, to prove that I had ordered online and driven home during the time they claimed I was at the car park," she added. "But the next day I received a letter rejecting the appeal with no acknowledgement of the evidence I sent."

Dorset Echo: The drive-thru queue counts as part of the car park so you can be charged for being in the queueThe drive-thru queue counts as part of the car park so you can be charged for being in the queue

Refusing to give up without a fight, Ms Pace took her case to independent regulatory body POPLA (Parking On Private Land Appeals).

POPLA said Civil Enforcement had not provided evidence to show whether or not the ANPR cameras were working at the time of the power cut - so Donna won the appeal and the charge was finally cancelled on July 15.

"It was a relief - it had been hanging over me for several months," she said. "It makes you wonder how many people are going to end up with one of these PCNs through their letter box."

Although the issue has now been resolved, Ms Pace said she wanted to speak out to alert others.

Dorset Echo: Civil Enforcement Ltd did not provide evidence that the cameras were still working during the power cut - so the charge was overturned - finally!Civil Enforcement Ltd did not provide evidence that the cameras were still working during the power cut - so the charge was overturned - finally!

It follows a recent case where another Weymouth resident was fined for overstaying the 90 car park stay due to a long wait at the drive-through.

Civil Enforcement Ltd confirmed that the time starts when a vehicle enters the private land belonging to KFC - including the drive-through queue - and not just the parking bays.

"There's so many other things with daily life at the minute for everyone to contend with - to have something like this happen, it's really troubling," Donna Pace added.

"I can imagine this causing a lot of stress for others as well - for me it's not just the financial aspect; the feeling of not knowing what you've done wrong, or what's going to happen next, is a major trigger for anxiety."