A mum hit with a parking fine after pulling into a car park when her daughter felt ill will battle it out in court after her dispute has rumbled on for more than a year.
Karen Farley’s problem started after stopping in the car park outside the Playworld party and play centre for children in Marsh in March 2025.
The car park is run by Leeds-based car park management company UKCPS and, despite Karen’s appeals, they insist she must pay an enhanced fine or go to court.
Karen, a pain management physiotherapist, said: “I am so annoyed and frustrated with this private parking company. They are an awful company to deal with which makes me want to warn others as this is so unfair.’’
Karen, 50, of Lindley, was given the ticket for not parking within marked bays at 3.09pm on March 5, 2025, when her daughter Isabella felt sick.
Karen said: “I was working at Dewsbury and District Hospital when I got a call from Isabella’s school, Salendine Nook High, to say she was unwell, had been sick and could I come and collect her as soon as possible.
“I collected her just before school time ended at 3.10pm and my main concern was getting her medication as she had a severe headache as well as still feeling sick.
“I picked up some medication at the chemist on New Hey Road at the Bay Horse roundabout and then continued down Westbourne Road.’’
Karen said moments later Isabella said she felt she was going to be sick so she made the split second decision to turn left into the Playworld car park.
She says the large car park was virtually empty so she did a loop around it to ensure she was not blocking anyone’s way and pulled up facing Playworld.
The large car park at Playworld in Marsh is often empty
Isabella was in the back seat as Karen’s work stuff was on the front one so she got out, opened the rear door to make sure Isabella was OK and give her some fresh air. When Isabella said she would be all right until they got home a few minutes away, Karen got back in and drove off.
Karen said: “Westbourne Road is always very busy and there was nowhere to stop so I had to think very fast to get off the road and Playworld was the only option.
“I literally didn’t even think about it as parking as I was simply wanting to stop somewhere so Isabella wasn’t sick in the car. It was basically a child welfare need so I stopped the car, got out to literally open door to get her some air and see how she felt. She wasn’t sick so after I felt satisfied she was OK we drove home.
“We were not there long at all, a maximum of a few minutes. What makes it even more annoying is that I’ve been to Playworld many times over the years as a customer.’’
Karen received a parking charge notice through the post a few days later for £100 – reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. She wrote a letter of appeal to UKCPS but heard nothing until she later received a letter from a debt recovery company for £170.
She contacted this company but they said there was nothing they could do so Karen has decided to let the process go through to court and will explain what happened there. She is also getting proof from the school that Isabella, who is now 16, was ill that day and she had been called to pick her up.
Over the months the fine kept escalating up to £259 although UKCPS offered a reduction of £220 which Karen refused and they then offered to reduce it to £150 which again she declined as a matter of principle.
As she’s a single mum with a busy life she offered to pay the original parking fee to close the case and end the stress but UKCPS refused this and court now seems to be the only way forward for both sides after mediation failed too. Karen has not heard anything about a court date yet.
Karen added: “This has been hanging over me for more than a year now and I’m still fuming about it … it’s so unfair. The photo UKCPS sent me of the car clearly shows me standing next to it checking that Isabella is OK.
“At no point was I parking which is why I wasn’t in a bay. I just stopped to check she was all right and it’s led to all this hassle.
“Life’s tough enough without getting silly bills like this when I’ve done nothing wrong.’’
UKCPS does not have an email address.
It has a phone number which operates from 11am to 1pm on weekdays but when Huddersfield Hub phoned it and pressed option 2 to speak to an advisor the phone cut off.
We tried this four times and the UKCPS phone hung up every time.
We then tried to contact them through their online appeals process, inputting Karen’s parking charge reference number and her car’s registration number but this triggered a message which said “we cannot find this ticket.’’
Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content, copywriting and ghost-writing autobiographies.
