Home   Deal   News   Article

Mercedes Benz EV owner slams charging fine in Deal car park

An electric car owner is calling on council bosses to be reasonable over a £70 fine.

Although Tony Nagle readily admits that by the letter of the law he is in the wrong, he says surely common sense should be applied to his situation.

Tony Nagle parked in an electric vehicle space in West Street Car Park in Deal. Picture: Tony Nagle
Tony Nagle parked in an electric vehicle space in West Street Car Park in Deal. Picture: Tony Nagle

His trouble began on December 20 when he plugged his Mercedes-Benz EQE into a power point in West Street Car Park in Deal.

To start the charging process, he needed to use an app on his phone, but his battery had died so he took the five-minute walk back to his home to plug his mobile in.

After doing this, putting the kettle on and waiting for the iPhone to come back to life, he then accessed the app and started the car charge remotely - thinking no more of the matter.

However, it soon emerged that in the time taken to do this, a Dover District Council (DDC) officer had slapped a fine on his prized motor for parking in the electric vehicle charging space without actually charging.

Because the 61-year-old pays £65 annually for a residents’ parking permit, he did not need to purchase a car parking ticket.

The four electric car charging spaces in West Street Car Park in Deal. Picture: Tony Nagle
The four electric car charging spaces in West Street Car Park in Deal. Picture: Tony Nagle

The dad-of-two explained his circumstances to DDC, but it refused his appeal stating “it was served correctly because the vehicle was parked in an EV recharging bay, without charging”.

In response, Tony said he agrees the council is “technically” right but deems its response “unfair”.

He said: “What I am disputing is DDC’s judgement and sense of fairness in such situations that they themselves may not have thought about.

“Hypothetically two minutes after electricity stops flowing from the charging point to the car (once a car is fully charged) an owner of an electric vehicle is in breach of DDC’s terms.

“My intent was always to charge the car as I have done for the past two years and will continue to do so.

The distance between the car park and Tony Nagle's home in Middle Street, Deal
The distance between the car park and Tony Nagle's home in Middle Street, Deal

“I did physically connect my car to the charging point, I couldn’t access the app due to my phone not having charge, as soon as it was charged, I was able to initiate charging remotely for which I have proof, proof which DCC rejected.”

The £70 fine would have been reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days but Tony went down the appeal route.

He added: “I have no way of charging my car outside my home because I live on Middle Street in Deal and there are double yellow lines on both sides of the street, so the only possibility of charging my car is in a council-provided charging solution.”

In the council’s statement of intent within its parking enforcement policy it says: “Dover District Council will enforce parking regulations fairly, lawfully and without discrimination.”

In the same policy, it also says “every case that challenges a PCN will be investigated on its own merit, and mitigating circumstances will be taken into account”.

In response, Tony said: “Why would I deliberately park in an EV space without the intention of charging?”

“The council obviously don’t view what I’ve shared with them as mitigating circumstances. I completely and wholly disagree with them.”

The company director has been parking in the West Street Car Park since 2006 and says this is the first time he has been faced with this situation since he purchased his electric vehicle in December 2022.

This month, the council announced an increase to the cost of parking permits for some electric car owners in Kent by more than double the current rate from January 13.

A spokesman initially told KentOnline they’d be an investigation into the background but later wrote to Tony informing him that the fine stood and he would need to appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal if he was still unhappy.

Tony added: “It comes back to reasonableness and in this specific instance I do not think the council has been reasonable and fair.

“My moral compass is that it is wrong, and it shouldn’t go unchallenged. That day there were loads of spaces in the car park, it wasn’t as if there weren’t any spaces.”

Close This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.Learn More