A woman was fined £170 for being seconds over the time limit in a car park – after she left because she feared the QR code scanner was a scam.

Angela Jones, 60, popped into town to collect some photographs and pulled into Kings Heath High Street car park in Birmingham.

One of the ticket machines was broken and a sign said she needed to scan a QR code in order to pay on her phone.

Angela says she tried downloading the app at /// but became suspicious it was a scam so deleted it from her phone and left the car park at /// on October 31.

A week later she received a £100 fine from Parking Charge Collections Ltd (PCC), saying she had exceeded the five-minute limit by 65 seconds.

Angela, from Alvechurch, Warks., appealed the fine but it was rejected and the penalty was increased to £170.

She said: "The day before I went to the town I'd done training at work on how to spot a scam."

"When the car park sign said I needed to scan a QR code I did so but the app wasn't the same as a the car park sign so I was suspicious."

"I immediately deleted the app and left the car park. I never thought in a million years that I'd be fined for trying to do the right thing."

"I've never been in trouble before – I was always brought up to be honest."

"I couldn't afford to pay the fine, my wages don't even cover my bills and that causes me enough stress."

"It almost finished me off."

Angela, who has three jobs including working as a veterinary receptionist, took her fight to the Independent Appeals Service (IAS).

However, her plea was rejected a second time after she did not correctly verify her email address with the IAS.

After receiving a letter from solicitors acting on behalf of PCC demanding payment, Angela said she felt "intimidated" to pay up."

She said: "It affected my mental health greatly and left me in the position where I was so scared that I paid it before any legal action was taken."

"I was waking up in the night, terrified there would be bailiffs knocking at me door."

"I had to borrow the money from a friend which was humiliating."

Angela contacted her MP Bradley Thomas who contacted the trade association for private parking firms, the International Parking Community (IPC).

After several weeks of letters being exchanged, Angela's fine was eventually cancelled.

Mr Thomas, Conservative MP or Bromsgrove, said: "I'm really pleased that Angela's parking charge has been cancelled."

"I know this unfortunate saga caused her a great deal of stress and worry."

Angela is still waiting to receive a full refund and the IPC said it is working
to ensure private car parks do not hand out similar fines.

A spokesperson for the IPC said: "We are pleased that this case has resolved itself with the cancellation of the parking charge and a full refund."

"This outcome underscores the importance of providing thorough information to the operator when lodging an appeal."

"Had full information and evidence been provided at the outset we are confident this matter could have been resolved more swiftly."

"We strongly encourage anyone dissatisfied with an operator's appeal decision to escalate their case to the independent adjudicator."