I got a parking ticket waiting in the McDonald’s drive-thru: CRANE ON THE CASE

I got a parking ticket for buying a cup of coffee at my local McDonald’s drive-thru.

The McDonald’s is located in a retail park, which also has a parking lot. Both are accessible via the same entrance.

So my car was photographed as I entered and left, even though I hadn’t parked – I just got in line, waited, got my drink and left.

A few days later I received the fine, which was £100, dropping to £60 if I paid within 14 days.

The PCN recorded that I stayed 16 minutes. This was in the early hours of the morning when there is no free parking.

I understand there is a 15 minute ‘grace period’ which I must have exceeded by a few seconds due to the slow moving queue.

I got the PCN during a holiday and couldn’t reach the company by phone, so I panicked and paid for it.

But this seems most unfair because at no point was I ‘parked’. I didn’t even get into the parking lot. I just joined a moving line to buy something at McDonald’s.

I have contacted McDonald’s head office but nothing happens. Can you help? A.J., Poole

Helen Crane from This is Money replies: That’s certainly an expensive cup of coffee, and I can understand why the experience has given you a pat on the back when it comes to the fast food chain.

You told me you haven’t ordered from the offending restaurant since this happened a few months ago, which is your ire – although you did add that it was good for your waistline.

McDonald’s does not operate the car park – that is thanks to Group Nexus, a private parking company that has an agreement with the owner of the land on which the car park is located.

But I would say McDonald’s needs to take some responsibility here.

McMadness may have to pay for parking to sit in the drive-thru line.

You told the restaurant staff about the complaint and they said others had also received similar letters.

I spoke to McDonald’s and pointed out that the parking rules were causing some division between this restaurant and its loyal customers.

I suggested talking to Group Nexus to try to solve the parking problem, or at least put up a sign to make drivers aware that they could potentially be fined while waiting for their food.

While there are plenty of generic signs around the parking lot, I don’t think it’s entirely fair to assume that waiting at a drive-thru window would amount to parking.

But the McDonald’s spokesperson told me this was the responsibility of the car park operator and there was nothing they could do.

I then approached Group Nexus – although I must admit it was without much hope. In my experience, parking companies can be fickle and tend to stick to their rates no matter what.

But I’m happy to say I was wrong, and it actually took a very sensible approach.

Coffee to go: But our reader ended up paying much more than the price of his drink when he got a parking fine

I was told that the €60 paid would be refunded. In fact, it said it would extend the grace period for customers stopping by for a late night snack – although it didn’t say by how long.

A spokesperson said: ‘When we took over this location in June, we agreed a sensible grace period with the landlord based on historical customer usage patterns to ensure McDonald’s drive-thru customers have sufficient time to order and collect.

‘Since then, however, there have been a small number of cases of customers using the drive-thru out of hours (midnight – 6am) where more time was required.

“So, with the landlord’s agreement, we recently extended the grace period to be more accommodating.

‘We operate a limited grace period during these hours to prevent abuse and anti-social behaviour.’

It has also canceled all PCNs currently going through the appeals process if they relate to this drive-thru.

“If someone appealed against a PCN before the extension at the end of August because they had used the drive through for longer, their PCN has been cancelled,” the spokesperson added.

A victory for common sense, and for fans of the Big Mac. I love it!