A teacher has lost out on her dream home, all because of a parking ticket she had been told was cancelled.

Sarah Arrowsmith’s credit rating was poor because of a County Court Judgement she knew nothing about.

As a result of the parking ticket, she was refused a mortgage, the Mirror reported.

The three-bedroom house she and fiancé Ross Tredger had set their hearts on, has now been sold to someone else.

Sarah, 28, was given a ticket for leaving her car at Halfords overnight.

Private firm Parking Eye said she had overstayed the limit at a retail park in Derby.

She said: ‘I contacted Halfords and they said, “You’re exempt from paying this.”

‘They rang Parking Eye and said it was cancelled.’

Sarah received two more demands, but Halfords told her each time that the ticket would be cancelled.

She then changed address and had no idea that the case had gone to county court, with the original £60 penalty rising to £197.

‘I never received a letter from the court about the CCJ,’ she said.

‘The first I heard about it, was when our mortgage application was denied. I was in tears. We had done all of the checks and were about to submit our offer.

‘I had to look up what a CCJ was. I am a very law-abiding citizen and I always pay off my credit cards each month.

‘We’re absolutely devastated that this mistake has prevented us from getting a mortgage. It’s hard enough for young people to get on the housing ladder.’

Sarah, of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, is determined to get the judgement removed from her credit file before she and Ross, 30, start house-hunting again.

‘All this for a parking ticket,’ she said. ‘We just wanted a nice house to start our life together. I now feel my whole life has been put on hold.’

Halfords said: ‘As soon as Sarah brought the parking fine to our attention, we made it clear to Parking Eye that because her car was in our care and booked in for a service, the ticket and fines should be rescinded.’

Parking Eye said it had ‘no record of receiving any communication’.

Got a story for Metro.co.uk?

If you have a story for our news team, email us at [email protected].

You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Source: Read Full Article