To complain about supermarket parking fine of £70 for overstaying 2 hour period

[OhNoNotMyBaby]

I overstayed by 25 minutes. I get that. Hands up, I just forgot the time.

BUT, of that 2 hours 25 minutes I was parked, 1 hour and 10 minutes (approx) was spent in the store, spending in excess of £84.

I feel there should be an exemption for customers, or say, an extra hour - though I'm not sure how the store would manage that. They always used to have a tannoy system "Would the owner of car reg...."

I'm really fucked off at being presented with a £70 charge for the privilege of parking in their car park whilst I spend money in their shop (and have done for decades).

But I did overstay (because I did pop into town for an hour). AIBU?

Eh? of course YABU. By your own admission you weren't in the store longer than you were...

And they do have signs up telling you the rules

Whether or not the rules are daft is irrelevant really. You park there, you agree to abide by them.

In my job i have the ability to get parking fines reversed.

I always do it for people who are nice and understand it's actually their error.

If youve been arsey in your letter - i wouldnt want to help you to be honest.

I'm really fucked off at being presented with a £70 charge for the privilege of parking in their car park whilst I spend money in their shop

But you weren't spending money in their shop, you were spending money in other shops and using the car park of the first. Which would have been fine if you had stayed for the 2 hours.
Your fault, your problem. YABU.

YABU
It was your fault.

You don't have a leg to stand on.

I've successfully appealed one of these by sending off receipts. Slightly different in that my car was registered as entering and leaving the carpark, but was actually having significant maintenance work done at a shop/garage on site, so wasn't even parked in a carpark space.

They are sneaky companies, sticking terms and conditions several metres up in the air where they know it is inaccessible to read, knowing that people will fall foul of it exposing them to extortionate "charges".

I'd give it a try appealing with your receipt. You have used other shops, but a not insignificant amount of time and money was spent in this shop.

Well this loyal customer gets pissed off she can't find a parking space because you've decided to pop elsewhere for nearly half the time. Two loyal customers like me who take under an hour to shop in their store or one of you? Hm.. No brainer.

YANBU. If you write to the supermarket (make sure not to be arsey, but do point out how much you spend) they will probably waive it.

Sainsbury's near me has the two hour parking too. It's right on the railway station and it was never p problem to park there, when it was the Co-op, the car park is huge and no-one abused it. That all changed when Sainsbury's bought the Co-pp out. They introduced the two hour limit, they don't charge for parking there but they now have a parking warden who goes around taking photos of the plates then goes back on his rounds two hours later to take more pics.

Seriously? You were not in the store for that time. You used their parking spaces for free parking. YABU.

These are now enforceable and people telling you otherwise, or that it's Council owned land only, are going from out of date info.

Go to Pepipoo (it's a serious website, google it - it's exactly for these sorts of motoring charges) and follow their advice if you want to contest the fine - be prepared to follow a particular process though.

FWIW I challenged a similar ticket, but a few years ago before the law changed. It's worth a shot. Mine ended up being dismissed (mainly because the area I'd parked was apparently not a proper space - despite me sending to the site landlords a picture of their own marketing brochure showing someone parked there!) so I hope you get lucky if you do decide to contest.

These tickets can now be enforced by law, so if the supermarket don't move quickly you need to lodge an appeal/do something with the parking firm. They can, and often do, go to court over it.

In answer to points:
I was not 'taking the piss'. I spent zero in town [just christmas window shopping].

I spent £84 in Sainsbury's.

I know I overstayed. I know I need to pay. I'm just fucked off.

I'm not boycotting a whole town at all. I will park elsewhere in town in future - and buy my groceries in either M&S, Waitrose or Tesco. So Sainsbury's have lost a loyal customer who has spent many, many thousands of £ over the years.

I do expect that customer loyalty works both ways, ie I spend thousands each year = they should give me free parking.

Why should supermarket car parks be used for people popping into town ffs?

But I did overstay (because I did pop into town for an hour). AIBU?

You were doing so well until I read the last line of your op.
Going in to town for an hour makes you unreasonable

I don't think yabu. If you spent money there then you should have the fine waived imo. I would definitely go in there with your receipt and try and get it cancelled.

😂 at dorothy refusing to enter an entire town over this. Ridiculous!

YABU OP

Why would op pointing out how much she spent make any difference? During the hour she spent parked there when not in the store, someone else could have been in there spending the equivalent.

I do expect that customer loyalty works both ways, ie I spend thousands each year = they should give me free parking.

Whatever other posters say, that is how the supermarkets look at it too. The time restrictions are there so they can fine people who don't shop in the story and only use the free parking. They are not intended for customers like you, and they don't care if you pop into town for an hour after spending £84 with them. That's why the fine will be waived if your letter was reasonable.

YABU however if it is a "parking charge notice" and not a "penalty charge notice" than its not enforceable.

Floggingmolly That argument only works if there were 0 free spaces in the supermarket at any point. Personally I've never been in a totally full supermarket car park. I've no doubt it happens, but the odds of this particular car park being totally full while the OP was in town? Low.

You're not helping yourself op, and I think you're a cheeky mare for asking them to waive it. Wish the manager could reply showing cctv of when you entered and left the store, but unfortunately he will probably be forced to be "nice" and refund you

customer loyalty works both ways, ie I spend thousands each year = they should give me free parking.

Free parking for when you're in their store though, not for whenever you fancy it!
You knew the rules, you broke them, and now you're trying to justify with your own made up rules. It doesn't matter that you were in there an hour, or how much you spent, the parkings free for customers in the store for up to 2 hours. You went into town and went over the 2 hours. You're in the wrong, no buts.