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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think Lidl have a crap attitude?

62 replies

Jedijane · 14/02/2017 20:03

I moved to a new town and in my first week I made the huge mistake of parking in Lidl's car park for 20 minutes at 7 pm in order to pick up a takeaway. (Never shopped at Lidl before, although I was planning to until this happened) I genuinely didn't see their puny signs in the dark and was landed with a £90 charge.
I wrote to customer service to explain what happened. I've worked in customer service for years so was basically expecting either the friendly response "we'll let you off this time as we'd really love to see in store" (that's what I would have done!) or the jobsworth response "nothing we can do because [insert spurious reason here]"
Instead they sent me a generic letter telling me to send my receipt to the parking company (the can't be arsed to read your email properly response).

OP posts:
BarbaraofSeville · 14/02/2017 20:39

You shopped in Lidl, paid cash, lost your receipt, you are new in town and plan to shop in Lidl regularly. Explain this nicely to the Lidl manager and he/she may ask the parking company to cancel the ticket. Wink

I'm not sure you'll get anywhere appealing to the parking company. They are watertight on this now. I once stopped in a car park for less than five minutes while picking DP up from the station.

I didn't get out of the car and only went in the car park to turn round and wait off the road, but I got a ticket. I followed all the moneysavingexpert advice on appealing and got nowhere. I didn't want them to start issuing CCJs and trashing my credit rating so I paid up in the end, but I'm still sore about it.

SantasLittleMonkeyButler · 14/02/2017 20:42

I'm also wondering how the CCTV camera that monitors cars arriving & leaving knows that you didn't actually go into Lidl. I thought they only took number plates as you drive in and number plates as you go out (obviously to time the stay).

Was it actually a pay and display and you didn't buy a ticket? I don't understand it otherwise Confused.

TheWrathFromHighAtopTheThing · 14/02/2017 20:42

It's a private company, and they cannot compel you to say who was driving at the time. Just write and say there's more than one driver registered to the car, and you've no idea who it was that day, and they won't have anyone to issue the fine to.

Original poster
Jedijane · 14/02/2017 20:42

No Gallavich parking isn't scarce. There wasn't anywhere to pay. You have to go into Lidl and give them your reg number but I didn't see the sign that said this or I would have gone in and bought something. That's how they know if you have gone in the shop or not.

OP posts:
Magpie18 · 14/02/2017 20:43

Slightly different scenario as I had been shopping in Lidl when I got my PCN shortly before Christmas I wrote to Lidl & the parking company at the same time - your appeal registers from that date so advise you do the same - mine was rescinded on production of my receipt. It's worth a (polite/grovel) appeal, at least it will be held at the lesser charge? Good luck

BarbaraofSeville · 14/02/2017 20:46

I wouldn't go down that route Wrath. I think that's actually an offence and what got Vicky Price and Chris Hume a jail sentence.

NarkyMcDinkyChops · 14/02/2017 20:46

So you parked in the wrong place, got a fine, and are pissed off that you have been politely directed to speak to the people who gave you the fine about the fine?

Obviously YABU.

e1y1 · 14/02/2017 20:47

To everyone asking how the parking company knows whether the OP shopped in Lidl.

As I later found out with mine, the store "validates" your parking - basically when checking out, you give your car registration to the checkout assistant and they key it in on the till - and as the camera scanned the reg when entering/exiting the car park, they know your parking is legit.

NarkyMcDinkyChops · 14/02/2017 20:47

Just write and say there's more than one driver registered to the car, and you've no idea who it was that day, and they won't have anyone to issue the fine to

The car has one registered owner. That's who the fine goes to. 2/10 for that scheme!

Olympiathequeen · 14/02/2017 20:49

You might as well pay up as you were in the wrong. It's an honest mistake but it was your mistake, not the shops. These car parks are run by outside agencies and they are vultures.

Totally agree it's very harsh and if you pay early you may get let off some of the payment but you will have to pay. Have learned this very hard lesson in a supermarket car park, but our local Lidl and Aldi is free but I will check for signs regardless

Original poster
Jedijane · 14/02/2017 20:55

It's DH they are chasing as the car's in his name and he is appealing on the grounds of inadequate signage. The car park isn't pay and display or I would have paid. I'm just shocked that a company thinks it makes good business sense to treat potential customers like this. And it has to be bad for the town.

OP posts:
Trifleorbust · 14/02/2017 20:58

Jedijane: It probably makes great business sense. If they didn't fine people for parking without buying anything, their car park would be full of 'potential customers' but no actual customers, and they would never make any money because nobody would be able to get in to buy anything.

Iwantausername · 14/02/2017 20:59

I don't know if I'm being dense but surely if you ignore it and it does go to court you'll end up with a CCJ against your credit file??
Plus you'll be liable for court costs too.
I accidentally (yes accidentally) ignored a fine for dropping a cigarette, I tried to call 3 times and left a voicemail and no one got back to me, I rang the council themselves and they had no record so I didn't chase, ended up in court for it as they said I should've made more effort to chase - fair enough, Now I'm paying £411 off in installments when the initial fine was only £90. I also have a CCJ for it, which impacts my credit rating and if I was to work in finance or something similar that required a credit check I'd be up shit creek (further than I already am - have never had credit)

BarbaraofSeville · 14/02/2017 21:01

What happens if you go to shop in Lidl but they don't have what you went in for and you end up buying nothing?

Would you have to get them to validate your parking anyway or else end up with a fine?

BreconBeBuggered · 14/02/2017 21:01

Hate these signs. I never park unless I'm actually shopping, but often there's some ridiculous rule about not returning within a certain timeframe. So you can't just drive back in if you've forgotten the milk without risking a fine. Who keeps the receipt for that scenario?

GabsAlot · 14/02/2017 21:02

i dont like these private parking firms but why s it everyone elses fault

a potential customer anyone can say that-u parked in their car park and went elsewhere-perfectly reasonable they aske for the receipt
if they let ev eryone do it it will be full and you wont have anywhere to park

GabsAlot · 14/02/2017 21:04

iwant-yours was acouncil fine whch is legtitmate-only one case ever went to court parking eye vs beavis the rest they cant be bothered with

NarkyMcDinkyChops · 14/02/2017 21:05

I'm just shocked that a company thinks it makes good business sense to treat potential customers like this

They are keeping the car park for actual customers, its not free for you to shop elsewhere on the off chance you might decide to shop at Lidl in the future!

maggiethemagpie · 14/02/2017 21:06

You only get a ccj if it goes to court and you continue to ignore it, as the judgement will be made against you in absence.

If you pay up when you get correspondence from the court, the case is dropped.

As they only take a fraction to court it's worth holding out IMO.

SaucyJack · 14/02/2017 21:06

Was there inadequate signage, or was it a case that you didn't actually bother to find a sign and check what your parking allowance was?

Look mate. We all hate private car park fascists, but they've got you fair and square on this one. You are not in the right here. Pay up, and learn your lesson for next time.

HughJarss · 14/02/2017 21:07

Was the ticket on the windscreen, OP? I had something similar. Parked in mothercare on a retail park near a hospital. Signs saying not to park there for the hospital. Met a friend at the bus stop before commencing shopping and by the time I got back (minutes later... hadnt made it into the shop, yet) I had a ticket, saying I'd left the premises. I complained in writing, as instructed by the store and said I did not spend anything (couldn't provide a receipt) as I was too upset at the unjust ticket. They have no right to tell you that you can't leave the parking lot. Ticket was overturned.

However, if you failed to pay and display that's another matter. Another time my ticket slipped down the dash and despite showing this to the council they didn't let me off.

BarbaraofSeville · 14/02/2017 21:09

I understand enforcing parking restrictions when the shop is busy and there is a risk that shoppers can't get parked, but at a quiet time where there were loads of spaces, what does it matter?

The car park I got caught in was 10% full at most, yet the owners or the parking company seemed to think I should have paid for being there for 5 minutes when I didn't even get out of the car.

If it gets worse, people will stop visiting these towns and cities and then all businesses will suffer. A lot of the country does not have functional public transport (we have one bus an hour to the city 5 miles away during evenings and weekends and that's better than a lot of people) so people have to have cars so they will go to places that they can park for free.

PigletWasPoohsFriend · 14/02/2017 21:11

If you pay up when you get correspondence from the court, the case is dropped

You end up paying a lot more and once court papers are issued they are also entitled to charge you the cost of petitioning.

Patchouli666 · 14/02/2017 21:13

But in all the years there's been a lidl, you've never shopped there but were 'thinking about it'. Yet you hadn't and now won't. If supermarkets have locals using carparks for free and their customers can't get parked then of course they have to do something about it.

Patchouli666 · 14/02/2017 21:14

And there are sadly no rules on how obvious signage has to be.