Does anyone know the legalities of supermarket parking fees?

[RedPandaWanda]

I could really do with some advice if anyone knows much about this subject?
My 80 year old father has received a letter from a company called CST Law, acting on behalf of a company called Smart Parking Limited.
The letter is for a supposedly unpaid debt of £170.
Basically, it threatens to take him to court if not paid.
My father had no idea what it’s about. I have contacted the company and they are saying it’s from a Parking Charge Notice which Smart Parking Limited issued my father with back in the summer of 2021 for overstaying the allocation allowed parking time (by 20 minutes) in a local retail park.
Luckily, my father keeps all his receipts. We have gone back on that day and it was when they (father and my mother) did their weekly food shop in the Morrison’s which is situated in the retail park. It appears they stayed 20 mins over the allotted time.
My father is 80 and my mums carer, she is 79, disabled and has Alzheimer’s, getting round a supermarket isn’t a five minute job for them. They also always park in a disabled parking bay displaying mums disabled blue badge. They also usually go in the cafe for a drink before/after their shop as it whacks mum out.
The company are saying they have posted several ‘parking notices’ since the original fine, which at the time was £60, this has now escalated to £170. Obviously nothing was sent recorded delivery as dad has not signed for anything. We have no way of knowing if these other letters have genuinely been posted to their address or not, the only thing we can think is that mum has thrown the notices away as she does often think that a lot of post is junk mail and if dad is in the garden or having a wash extra when the post comes she has a tendency to throw them away.
My dad is in a real state about this, he isn’t in the best of health himself and is really stressing that he’ll end up in court unless he pays this fee.
I think he will need to pay it for his own peace of mind but I am rather annoyed that he has a now, much higher charge when he was totally unaware of the original one of £60. Also annoyed that they parked in this car park for a genuine reason ie for their weekly shopping and we have proof of this with the receipt.
What an awful world we live in where elderly/disabled people are penalised for pootling around a supermarket.
I don’t suppose there is anything we can do about it is there? Just suck it up and pay the fee?
Any advice most welcome.

I think whether the time limit is reasonable depends on how long it is - here they allow 3 hours and it's only sainsburys, I think it's pretty reasonable length of time even if you have a cup of tea on arrival and a meal after shopping. If they only allow 90 mins then perhaps there's an obvious case for requesting longer if you have disabilities

I'd like to clarify that I don't lack understanding and I have every sympathy. But this is all retrospective. Surely the time to question and challenge is before, when you first choose to park in this kind of facility? To go in and check on the situation? There must presumably be a reason why there is a time limit and we are all subject to abiding by the rules. We may not like them and they may feel discriminatory but that is what we have to do or face consequences. I don't want to cause upset or derail and I do think it obviously is insufficient time for some people, but those were the rules at the time.

@Winniemarysarah

You only need to pay if it’s a penalty notice or fixed penalty notice as these are issued by the council. Any other parking charges are just invoices and are unenforceable. If it literally says ‘parking charge’ on the letter then I’d ignore it

This is outdated advice and wrong. These charges are now legally recognised. They are not “parking charges” but more “service fees” for using the property. Ignoring these fees may result in legal action and even higher costs incurred.

OP is better off with a clear email appeal with whatever evidence is available.

@RunningFromInsanity

How long was the parking allowance? If it’s a retail car park with 4 shops then you are looking at 3/4hrs parking and if he only went to Morrisons and still overstayed, that’s a ridiculously long time.

Plus you’ve already explained why he hasn’t seen the previous letters, your Mum throwing them away isn’t a valid excuse.

He needs to pay it.

The retail park has a Morrison’s, Iceland, Next, Halfords and a B&M. The free parking is for up to 2 hours. You obviously haven’t read my thread correctly. My parents are 80, my mum is disabled AND has Alzheimer’s. Do you understand how hard it is for elderly and disabled people to shop in that amount of time??

RunningFromInsanity I also mention that the lack of previous letters COULD possibly be a result of my mum disposing of them, we don’t have evidence that actually happened, the company may have failed to send them. There is no proof either way.

I've had a couple of these from the car park of b and q and the health centre. I wrote both times requesting evidence that I was there and in the case of the health centre that I hadn't paid.

I was responding to by the company dropping it. Most times this is not legal.

In your case write to the supermarkets head office. I bet it will so something to protect its brand.

While I have every sympathy for your parents and think you should appeal and genuinely hope you are successful I have to say I agree with the Poster who said that your Dad HAS actually done what the Parking company have said he has and as for the escalating letters you admit yourself that your Dad could have thrown them away.
At the point of issuing the ticket and subsequent reminders the parking company have no idea of the mitigating circumstances and so I don’t think they have done anything wrong.
Hopefully you can appeal and say what you have said here and it will be quashed but it’s not fair to criticise the parking company for enforcing the rules.

We have even gone to court over these and won every time.

Just use a MSE template and say no loss was incurred by them, and that you are disabled and therefore require longer time. They will usually back down then. Say you won’t communicate any further. If it goes to court there’s another template and they will 99.999999% of the time realise they’ve got nothing and drop out - it’s a fun game!

Our local.range do this too. For future reference: in the range if you go to customers services when you arrive, with blue badge, they make a note of your registration nu.ber and badge number and you xx an stay as long as you want. I know this doesn't help now, but may be worth asking Morrisons if they do similar. My parents had a fine, dad immobile and mum with dementia. They did know about the initial fine so paid up then complained to the range who explained the system...not a sign in sight!

Anyone saying what they’ve done isn’t wrong are wrong. By issuing the first fine they followed their T&Cs but once you respond they have no legal recourse. They must prove a loss was suffered financially - they won’t be able to do this. They prey on people panicking.

Also if they do try to go to court and you respond to their issuance, watch out for them suddenly reducing the fine and asking you to pay to stop the court going ahead. They do the same thing every time.

@Pugroll

If you Google the company and money saving expert there are usually some templates you can use to write to them. As he has his receipt and it was only 20 minutes over I would suspect it might be waived.

I did exactly this about three years ago and within 24hrs the notice was quashed. They wanted £70 for an eleven minute overstay

The golden rule is that you NEVER admit to being the driver on the day in question

You only admit to being the owner

I agree about appealing. Definitely email or send letter recorded delivery asap.

I’d contact www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/contact-us. The parking company should be making some reasonable adjustments, under the Equality Act 2010, for disabled people. It’s all well and good saying people have 2 hours to do their shopping in, however a fit, young bloke could get it done a whole lot faster than someone like me who needs walking aids, or your parents @RedPandaWanda.

There shouldn’t be a blanket rule for everyone, as we’re not all the same.

@ShadowGirls

The golden rule is that you NEVER admit to being the driver on the day in question

You only admit to being the owner

What stupid advice! The owner would then be liable they don't care who was driving

Whatever the rules are, it's pretty poor form to charge an elderly couple with disabilities for a twenty minute overstay. I can't believe neither Morrisons nor the parking company can't waive the gine on the grounds of goodwill! Could Age Concern advise?

Fine

Makes sure all the details on it are correct. Car reg, car make etc. He should have also received the original parking charge invoice within a certain amount of time, from when the violation took place. So ask for a copy and check all details. Make sure they are a registered company and with a parking body/organisation, otherwise they are just trying their luck. You have probably gone past the point of appeal as it's from the original date of invoice, but if you didn't receive it, you can request it again and so have the chance to appeal. When communicating, always speak as "registered keeper" not naming the driver. What ever you do do, do not ignore it anymore as the rules changed and they do now chase debt and prosecute. There is a Facebook page, where they can advise and also for a fee about £15, appeal on your behalf and he has appealed thousands and has a very high success rate. Very knowledgable and good advice given.

Azpil Thank you, I will check all of that out.
housemdwaswrong I will definitely get dad to do that in the future.
TheFairyCaravan I will do that, thank you.
KenAddams actually that’s wrong. Fines etc go to the driver not the owner.
Loopyloulou007 Thanks, Do you know the name of the FB page?

And to the people saying that my dad needs to suck it up and pay the fine as he did go over the allotted time, the issue here is not about NOT paying the fine, it’s about an unfair ticket charge hence the reason I will now contact the company and explain the circumstances. If my dad had parked up on the private land and went out for the day then of course it’s only right he should pay. BUT he didn’t, he parked there in good faith with his disabled and dementia ridden wife, to do their weekly shopping.

I don’t think anyone did say that really.
Some people said that the fine was issued appropriately at the time but given the circumstances your Dad/you should appeal and hopefully be successful

Contact POPLA who will assist you in your appeal

If the 'debt' has already been passed on I doubt there is anything the supermarket could do now, even if they wanted to.

I wouldn't not recommend you ignore it, it will be enforceable if they take you to court, granted it is unlikely, but a possibility.

Personally I would just pay it to save you father the stress of it all

ourlady Ive contacted them today so they can help.

Best of luck @RedPandaWanda