Hotel guest pays £100 to end epic 'free parking' row

DISPUTE WITH ENFORCEMENT COMPANY SETTLED OUT OF COURT

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

A CITY hotel says it has “been through hell” after a guest who should have had free parking was threatened with a £300 bill.

David Selvey, 63, booked a room at the Commodore Hotel in Nuthall Road in February 2022.

The hotel was clearly advertised with free parking and, when checking in, Mr Selvey completed a form including his vehicle's registration.

This meant the hotel could input Mr Selvey’s registration into a system so the parking company it used, Civil Enforcement Ltd, would not fine him.

But a week after his one-night stay, Mr Selvey received a letter from the Liverpool-based firm saying it was fining him £100.

The dispute escalated to the point where legal action was being threatened and Mr Selvey at one stage was told to pay £294 costs.

Nearly three years after his stay in Nottingham, Mr Selvey has had to accept an out-of-court settlement with Civil Enforcement and pay out £100.

Mr Selvey says the Commodore, which is in the process of changing its name to the Aspley Lodge Motel, should have done more to cancel the court action and reimburse his costs.

Mr Selvey says he made six failed attempts at contacting the hotel by phone after initially receiving his fine.

He returned to the hotel for another one-night stay in May 2022 and, on that occasion, he watched the receptionist type his vehicle registration into the hotel’s computer so that he wouldn’t get a fine.

This is what should have happened on Mr Selvey’s first stay but a letter from the then owner of the hotel confirmed that “for some reason his registration number was not correctly recorded”.

Mr Selvey also discovered through a conversation with the receptionist that it was actually the intention of the hotel to charge for parking, but it was having difficulty getting the booking websites updated.