A shocked driver has been billed for what might be the most expensive drive-thru ever after munching on his McDonald's order in a Starbucks car park.

Bob Spink had been visiting his local Maccies branch in Swansea, South Wales, on April 22 with his girlfriend and had parked up in the nearby bays outside the coffee chain to enjoy his order.

But five days later, Bob found a letter through his door issuing him a fine of over £100 for using the parking bays for a "mere" 16 minutes, WalesOnline reports.

Bob said he had been unable to find a parking space to enjoy his meal and "had not realised penalties were a thing", but the 50-year-old has since vowed "not to go near a Starbucks ever again".

"We had only bought a £12 order from McDonald's and the car park was entirely full so we parked in Starbucks to eat as there was plenty of space. It just feels like legalised theft, I haven't done anything wrong legally," he said.

The letter he received told him that if he paid the fine within 14 days it would be reduced to £60 so he did so to avoid the bigger charge.

"I was baffled by it, we have just moved here and it's something you can't ignore as it only gets worse and increases the fee," he added. "I shared it in the hope of making people aware and steer clear of the chain.

"We hadn't even left the car, the premise of a car park is to invite people in and it just feels like a con and I don't understand what they are trying to achieve and it doesn't look great for the chain to use a parking enforcement with such tactics."

People commenting on his shared image of the parking offence also told of similar stories with some blasting the fine while others said it was a "lesson learnt the hard way" and conceded to paying their own penalties.

Starbucks uses National Parking Enforcement LTD at its branch located in Fabian Way.

Starbucks acknowledged that the parking offence notice was the responsibility of National Parking Enforcement Ltd and declined to comment further.

National Parking Enforcement has been contacted for comment.

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