An afternoon catch-up over coffee at Te Puke McDonald’s in January turned into a bit of a nightmare for two women.

Te Puke’s Lynne Robertson and Jacqui Cavit from Pāpāmoa met with a third friend at McDonald’s on January 26.

Lynne says they chose McDonald’s because a lot of the other cafes in Te Puke close at 3pm.

What they didn’t realise, and say signage at the time wasn’t very prominent, is there is a 60-minute time limit on the McDonald’s carpark.

The next month they met at McDonald’s again - and again stayed for over an hour. A friend who was with them received a breach notice for $85.

Jacqui did not have her car with her on that occasion. Lynne did, but did not receive a notice.

However, just after Easter, both Lynne and Jacqui received letters from debt collection agency Baycorp claiming they hadn’t paid the amount specified on breach notices issued by Parking Enforcement Services, a division of Wilson Parking. The amount outstanding was $135.

Jacqui queried the letter and was asked for a reference number, which she didn’t have as she had not received a breach notice.

After further calls and emails, she discovered there had been a problem with Parking Enforcement Services mail system and notices - two to her and two to Lynne - relating to their visit on January 26 had not been sent.

Jacqui has now received confirmation the fine has been waived, but Lynne has been asked to produce evidence she used the restaurant on January 26.

On Monday, Jacqui told Te Puke Times she's still less than impressed and will not be going to McDonald’s again.

“I really have to question why they needed to do it in the first place and still question why [parking is limited] to one hour,” she says.

“I just feel it alienates a whole group of people - it’s not going to encourage them to go there.”

She says it is also possible other people could have been caught up in the mail issues as well.

Talking to Te Puke Times, also on Monday, Lynne says she has been told she needs to appeal the breach notice and has been asked for receipts proving she was a customer that day.

“They are still giving me the runaround, but hopefully they will waive it,” she says.

A Wilson Parking spokesperson says the company has previously identified a temporary fault in its mail house processing, which disrupted the processing of breach notices.

“The issue has been addressed, and those affected have had their breach notices waived, where appropriate.”

The spokesperson says anyone who receives a breach notice they would like to dispute can appeal the notice by emailing the company.

A McDonald’s spokesperson says the restaurants at Te Puke, Mount Maunganui and Cameron Rd in Tauranga have long-standing one-hour free parking restrictions and the company that does the monitoring has been in place for over a year.

The car parks are monitored by cameras that recorded all vehicles entering and leaving the premises.

“Only when vehicles have used the restaurant’s drive-through multiple times in one day has there been a known incorrect infringement.

“This occurs when the first time from the first visit and the last time from the last visit have been recorded as one event.

“This is easy to identify though through CCTV, and anyone who has contacted the restaurant when this has happened has had their parking fines waived.

“Once this was known, the restaurants had their cameras readjusted and a new camera installed to minimise this happening again.”

The spokesperson says each restaurant has clearly visible signage that notes the parking time limits and advertises cameras are used to monitor this.

-Te Puke Times.