A man has been fined £100 for eating his McDonalds takeaway in a Starbucks car park.
Bob Spink was left shocked when he received a letter saying that he would be fined £100 for using one of Starbucks’ parking bays for 16 minutes.
Mr Spink visited McDonald’s in Fabian Way, Swansea, with his girlfriend but when he was unable to find a parking spot to eat the food, he opted to instead park in the nearby coffee store car park instead.
The 50-year-old, who earlier said he “had not realised these penatlies were a thing” has now vowed “not to go anywhere near a Starbucks again”.
Mr Spink shared the letter he recieved
Bob Spink
Speaking on the incident, he said: "We had only bought a £12 order from McDonald's and the car park was entirely full so we parked in Starbucks to eat as there was plenty of space.
“It just feels like legalised theft, I haven't done anything wrong legally,"
Mr Spink, who shared the letter he received on social media, was told to pay the fine within 14 days to reduce the payment from £100 to £60.
He added: "I was baffled by it, we have just moved here and it's something you can't ignore as it only gets worse and increases the fee.
“I shared it in the hope of making people aware and steer clear of the chain.
“We hadn't even left the car, the premise of a car park is to invite people in and it just feels like a con and I don't understand what they are trying to achieve and it doesn't look great for the chain to use a parking enforcement with such tactics.”
Comments on the post varied from “it’s shocking they are allowed to do this”, to others saying it was a “lesson learnt the hard way”.
Starbucks has said parking was the responsibility of National Parking Enforcement Ltd and declined to comment further.
Bob Spink parked in the Starbucks car park (right) after visiting McDonalds
Google Maps
