 | Home > Off Topic > Fined for Parking in Supermarket Car Park? |
 
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| ericvv Member Since: 02 Jun 2011 Location: Near the Jet d'Eau Posts: 5816   
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Strange country there at the other side of the Channel
No supermarket here would even think about fining anybody (= clients or potential clients), unless the offense would be so blatant (like leaving your car there for weeks at length, etc......) that measures are really unavoidable. The normal practice is that supermarket parkings are either limitless free, or in case of for instance underground parkings, at least the first hour is free, and thereafter no fines at all, you just pay 1 to 2 CHF or € per extra hour you use that car park. I know of many cases where I used such parkings for over an hour, then drove up to the exit gate without paying, and pushing the talk button, and when they answered, tell them I am at the exit with my shoppings, but lost my card. Invariably they will open the gate from the office then and wish you off with a nice goodbye 
Seems this country is quite customer friendly and last thing that stores want is to loose clients 
A bit, but not fully  . Some Swiss supermarket chains go to the extreme with customer focus...... Like the one back in 2007 which invited the Rolling Stones to perform before 38.000 people at the Olympic stadium in Lausanne for their clients only, and they sent out about 19.000 invitations with 2 tickets each plus free public transport during 3 days around the concert from anywhere in Switzerland to Lausanne and back, all free of charge....... We got one of those invitations, so got to see a super well organized "A Bigger Bang"  Whole organization, including the Stones themselves, cost the supermarket chain 3MLN CHF, but they actually recuperated that within 3 months by increased sales/marketing share..... And the ripple on effect lasted for years thereafter........
Just to say, last thing they are worried about is someone using their parking lot for a bit too long  You never actually own a Defender. You merely look after it for the next generation.
http://youtu.be/yVRlSsJwD0o https://youtu.be/vmPr3oTHndg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GtzTT9Pdl0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABqKPz28e6A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLZ49Jce_n0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvAsz_ilQYU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8tMHiX9lSw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dxwjPuHIV7I https://vimeo.com/201482507 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSixqL0iyHw Last edited by ericvv on 19th Sep 2017 5:28pm. Edited 1 time in total |
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17th Aug 2013 9:22pm |
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| theorangebandit Member Since: 03 Jun 2013 Location: Stowmarket Posts: 862 |
since buying a 110 i have noticed that many spaces are short! really short! the saving grace of my defender in its current state is that its plenty narrow enough for most bays.
also in my second week of ownership i ripped off a barrier in a multi story car park lol got the roof wedged as i tried to enter(gingerly of course) and then backed up an inch and off came there barrier lol guy said happens all the time. left all my contact details fully accepting my mistake and willing to pay for repair but not heard a thing ...yet, its been two months think im in the clear. i think there should be an extra 20 bays available at all car parks for 4x4s, given also that were the people they turn to for help every xmas when there beepy fiesta gets wedged in half an inch of snow yet the remaining 10 months of the year were all beepholes that are killing the planet |
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18th Aug 2013 8:31am |
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| jimbob7 Member Since: 06 Jul 2013 Location: uk Posts: 2055 |
I always park at the back of car parks where it's quiet,keeping the numpties at arms length so to speak,always somee a55hole wants to park next to you.
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18th Aug 2013 10:09am |
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| AndyS Member Since: 18 Aug 2012 Location: London Posts: 597  
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There's a lot of calls to radio talk shows (the legal hour obviously) about this kind of thing and as said earlier, you can't be fined for parking on private land only charged to use the facility. The legal advice is to write to the issuer of the letter and say you were shopping at the facility (which can't be proved either way) and therefore the establishment has profited from you using the parking bay for it's intended purpose. Stick a pound coin to a bit of card and say this is to cover the expense of sending you a letter and that the matter is now closed.
The legal bod says even if they took it to court, which they won't because they know the law, no judge would fine in favour of the car park owner because they provide the car park for you to use while shopping at their establishment. But do send a pound coin as it shows you accept there has been a discrepancy but you have covered their cost incurred. |
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18th Aug 2013 10:32am |
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| DiscoStu Member Since: 30 Jun 2007 Location: London/The far north Posts: 255 
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Check out http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic77816.html?highlight=Parking
Some very useful advice My Disco 'best bits'
Defender 110 XS CSW 2013 |
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18th Aug 2013 10:42am |
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| mk1collector Member Since: 17 Sep 2009 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 6772  
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DO NOT send any money or respond to any letter from a private company about parking, only the council can fine you. You may get a couple of threatening letters off them but it will never be followed up and they will stop bothering you! |
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18th Aug 2013 10:50am |
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| Pam W Member Since: 25 Oct 2011 Location: North Yorkshire Posts: 1169 
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In my area at least, the only supermarkets that have ticket machines are those that are in the town centres. The tickets are up to 2 hours free and in some there is an option then to pay for longer.
The reason is not that the supermarkets are wanting to make more money out of the customer, but that the council puts the requirement in as part of the planning conditions. The last thing the council wants is a big free unlimited time car park in the middle of town diverting people from paying to stay in their own car parks!!! This also, as it happens, works in favour of customers shopping at the store, as the last thing they want is to be unable to find a space to do their weekly shop because the supermarket car park is full of local office workers parking up for the full day!!! So before people get on their soap boxes about greedy supermarkets then have a think!! However, there is indeed a huge debate going on at the moment regarding town centre car park charges in general, countrywide, as councils are using them to supplement other forms of income. This is potentially backfiring as it puts people off going into towns and instead they go to big out of town centres where there is free parking. Hence small local shops are being hit hard. One thing that is great about towns around North Yorkshire is that we have the 'Parking Disc' system, whereby some streets have on-street parking bays that you can use for a specific time on displaying the time you arrived on your disc. In my town this includes the part of the high street, so you can pop in to local shops, get your hair cut, whatever, without paying. There are not many spaces, but it does help. There are more spots a little further away from the town centre too, so just a bit further to walk. The recent suggestion to let people park on double yellow lines is a silly one in my opinion. All towns need to do is only put double yellows where there is a safety issue. Other parts of the street, where it is wide enough for it, should have disc parking zones like ours! In our towns double yellows are only where there is a safety issue (bad visibility junction or narrow street for example), not as a way of making people pay for parking elsewhere. Other local authorities should take note of North Yorkshire! Our blog - http://landytravels.com/ Yorkshire Off Road Club - http://www.yorkshireoffroadclub.net |
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18th Aug 2013 10:57am |
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| GSD Member Since: 18 Dec 2012 Location: UK Posts: 38 |
I was on leave from Germany and I got a £100 'charge' from Parking Eye at Welcome Break services. It was 4am I was knackered so I stopped for a kip and coffee. A month later their letter found me. It was a 'charge' sheet designed to look very much like a fine.
I started a thread here about it, had only a few replied telling me to pay 
I didn't pay, the charge went up to £150, 3 more threatening 'charges' came, then they stopped coming when I didn't pay. So I'm £100 or £150 better off. Private companies are not allowed to issue fines, if you feel compelled to pay them thats your choice but they cant fine you, nor can they demand unreasonable amounts of money. If, and it's a big if, they take you to court they will only be awarded an amount deemed by the court to match the loss of revenue you have caused by parking when and where you did. At 4am at an empty motorway services it would not have been £100. I notice on the OP's sign, it has the councils name on the sign, and the word 'fine'. As someone else has said, local authorities and the Police can issue and enforce fines. |
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18th Aug 2013 2:03pm |
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| JJ Member Since: 18 May 2009 Location: Winchester Posts: 932 
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"The reason is not that the supermarkets are wanting to make more money out of the customer, but that the council puts the requirement in as part of the planning conditions."
True in some cases but not here in Winchester where both the large out of town Sainsbury store and Tesco have both recently introduced 2 hour limits and both using the same contractor to enforce the charge. In this case I suspect someone has sold them a revenue raising idea , probably a fee from the contractor who gets it back by collecting the charges. Waitrose is still free but Aldi also charge if over 2 hours. None of them charge for parking but all enforce the 2 hour only rule which caused quite a stir with the community groups and doctors surgery who share the car park at Sainsbury as part of the original planning to allow the store in the 1st place. I also think the recent idea to allow parking on double yellows is stupid, they should only be there for safety reasons. Having said that I occasionally drive a delivery truck for an agency and if the loading bays are full will park on double yellows to deliver and most traffic wardens are understanding ( not all ) and allow it for brief periods. |
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18th Aug 2013 4:26pm |
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| dorstsmith2 Member Since: 06 Aug 2012 Location: On the third rock from the sun in dorset Posts: 188 
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Use Farms market and farm shops parking is free and this have been driven from one end to the other of the uk
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18th Aug 2013 5:34pm |
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| NoDo$h Member Since: 18 Aug 2007 Location: Buried in deer guts in Dorset Posts: 972
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54 Freelander modded for mud 2008 D3 SE 2010 90 XS SW 1978 88 Series 3 undergoing surgery with a new owner 2007 90 County Truck Cab - gone 2006 D3 SE - gone 2004 Freelander Sport - gay 1999 Disco V8 ES rotted to bits |
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18th Aug 2013 8:58pm |
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| Supacat Member Since: 16 Oct 2012 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 11018 
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Interesting to read others posts - the issue of the fine appears to have generated more comment than the weight limit itself. I would have thought that this was designed to have kept commercial vehicles out of the car park but set 25 plus years ago when most cars were under the limit. Today, I'm guessing most cars, other than the super mini class, would be close to or over the limit. I have now written to Morrisons out of curiosity to see what sort of a response I would get. I'm half expecting them to say that the ground belongs to Wakefield Council and as such the weight condition is nothing to do with them. However, knowing the condition is breached by a significant number of their customers and maybe doing nothing about it is irksome. Let's see what they have to say. |
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19th Aug 2013 9:30am |
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| mk1collector Member Since: 17 Sep 2009 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 6772
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I didn't realise it was in Wakefield, the weight limit is probably there because there's a mine underneath and they don't want sueing for anyone dropping in it
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19th Aug 2013 10:28am |
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| GSD Member Since: 18 Dec 2012 Location: UK Posts: 38 |
Very good point. Please keep us posted. |
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19th Aug 2013 11:14am |
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