G24 Parking Fine - to Pay or Not to Pay That is the Question

If you have already paid I don't think there is much you can contest and certainly if you have overstayed even by 14min. I think the only way you could have contested if there are no signs anywhere telling you the rules for that car park or of they tell you otherwise. I'm no expert though

I had a similar situation once went over car parking by a short time I think it was 15-20 minutes, paid the fine as thought easier to just do that, it was our fault really so even if contested I doubted we would be excused from the fine

I wrote on here before pandemic that I was fined in Sainsbury's car park for being 3 minutes late out. When I complained they sent a pic of me entering and leaving and judged the time from them, not from finding a space, walking to a machine and buying my ticket then taking it back to car, then getting my trolley etc. All of which takes several minutes. I put in an appeal but it kept being denied and I ended up having to pay £60. It wasn't run by Sainsbury's but a private firm. In your case I can't really see you had a case for appealing.

G24 must give you at least a 40% discount if you pay within the first two weeks. This means you would only have to pay a maximum of £30 outside of London or a maximum of £48 within London. Technically, you don't have to pay these fines at all unless they are enforced by a judge

I had a parking fine once from B&Q but never paid it as not a council run car park and I was blocked from leaving due to a large lorry making a delivery to the store. About 6 months after receiving the fine I asked B&Q if I could still come to the car park and make a purchase as I've stayed away due to the parking fine and not wanting to be clamped and wondered when it expired and they cancelled the fine. If you don't pay the fine you basically are prevented from using the store which means you buy from a competitor instead. Even if you pay the fine you could end resenting the store and not shopping there. I really think they should have some sort of undeclared buffer time before they fine especially when they see the car park is extremely busy and vehicles are prevented from leaving in a timely fashion. Admittedly I did leave it to the last minute. I probably only had 3 minutes spare but the queues caused by the truck meant delays longer than that. I would of thought something like 1/2hr excess should be automatic before fining.

Yes there can always be unforeseen circumstances in every case

I had one from Morrison's years ago when I couldn't start my car. I had to pay. I stopped using them and went to another local supermarket from then on. Saved money in the long run as it was Aldi, not the same variety of products by any means, but certainly cheaper.

I got one once when I was going for a job interview. I parked on the street opposite the building. There were no signs to say no parking, permit only, no pay machines etc. I paid it as it was issued by the council and knew they wouldn't let me away not paying it. It cost me half as I paid straight away.