Should my parents pay this supermarket car park fine?

[Afternooninthepark]

My parents always shop in our local Lidl supermarket.
My dad has just received a car park fine stating they were 15 minutes over the allotted 90 minutes. TBH, they were totally unaware it was 90 minutes and assumed it was 3 hours like many of our local supermarkets.
My dad says he will pay the fine as he doesn’t want any hassle but I don’t think he should because of several things :-
A) They spend over £80 in that supermarket (and have the receipt) and regularly shop in that store.
B) They are both in their late 70’s and quite slow (mainly because of mum, see below)
C) Mum has Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis and a disability parking permit

Dad is panicking and says he wants to pay it but I think that would be wrong as they spent money in the store and didn’t wander off and leave their car in the car park to do other things, why should they have to pay a fine after genuinely spending money in the store?
AIBU thinking they should challenge this?

I'm afraid I don't think any of those things are grounds to appeal it.

They spent nearly 2 hours doing a supermarket shop?

You can explain the situation and ask them to check their CCTV to find out when they entered and exited the shop. It's really up to the company to decide whether or not they will pursue.

I think if you contacted the store and explained the above, provided a receipt etc, they would ask the parking company to waive the fine (as it wouldn’t be in their interest to deter genuine customers)

Its worth challenging it, but most of these companies outsource their parking and they won't care.

If they are not cash strapped, I'd go with the path of least resistance for your DPs.

Yeah of course they can challenge it.

I know people who have challenged parking tickets before, (and have contacted the store directly) explaining they are a regular customer. And the fine has been cancelled.

Ask them to pop in and talk to the store manager.

Good luck to them.

Not saying it WILL be cancelled, but it cannot hurt to try.

Depends.... What company runs the carpark?

They don't have to pay it as it's highly unlikely that they'll enforce it (although there may be hassle/letters sent) but you are BU to say that they shouldn't have to pay it because they regularly spend money in the shop. I'd hazard a guess that the vast majority of people parking there will also do the same and it would be pretty pointless to have a parking limit if you weren't going to enforce it just because the owner had spent some money.

Slightly bemused at what they're regularly buying to total £80 in Lidl though

I had this at Asda.

Took a photo of the receipt and medical letter( diagnosis)

Being a customer was one of the grounds for appeal. Fine was waived.

YANBU The same thing happened to my FIL who was in his 80’s at the time and very slow. He payed the fine and solved any future problems by shopping in ALDI instead!

It’s unlikely that any of those reasons will make any difference as it’s likely to be outsourced.
If the signage isn’t clear or the notice boards don’t have planning permission then you might have a case.
Check out moneysavingexpert forums as there’s great advice there.

Everyone in the car park I assume has spent money in the supermarket so that’s not really an argument.

Do you mean your mum has a blue badge?

I wouldn't challenge it as the fine is the fine. They were there for longer than the allocated time. Everyone in the car park is meant to spend money in there. That's why it's free. Just because you spend £80 there doesnt mean you can leave your car there for as long as you like. However, a begging letter from you, explaining that they are elderly and your mum has alzheimer's and asking nicely for leniency may help.

Read letter, appeal online, you can do it for them.

Parking eye were the company.

There is really good section on Money Saving Expert on parking fines that tells you how to fight them effectively. We have successfully challenged a couple over the years.

The first thing your DDad should do is contact the store explaining the situation and see if they can get it cancelled. If not there are template letters on MSE to send to the parking company.

Our Aldi had the same restriction and if you went to the manager with your receipt he got it cancelled. In the end they upped parking to three hours.

He should go back to the supermarket and show his receipt to the manager. I’m sure they’ll cancel the fine.

I think it is worth asking, unless that is it stresses your Dad out so much that he would rather pay the fine. My parents, similarity ages recently got a ticket in a car park where you put in your car registration because my Dad put in the reg for the sting

They should speak to the store manager about it and show their receipt. Managers at Lidl and Aldi generally have authority to cancel these without going through the private parking company’s sham of an appeal process.

I’m not sure what grounds you think they have for appeal? Neither age, disability, ignorance of parking restrictions, or the amount you spend in the shop entitle you to park for more than 90 minutes.

There's a lot of these where I live, there's a fair few Facebook page just for these kind of parking ticket, they offer lots of advice, might be worth a look.

Sorry posted by fidgety toddler who should be asleep...

I think it is worth asking, unless that is it stresses your Dad out so much that he would rather pay the fine. My parents, similar-ish ages recently got a ticket in a car park where you put in your car registration because my Dad put in the reg for the wrong car, as they have two. When he called the company they checked the CCTV and confirmed the other car was there and quickly waived it!

Do the parking charges change if they get into a disabled spot -- should they get a blue badge?

Definitely worth speaking to the store manager. My mum did this and they appealed on her behalf.

If the shop genuinely took that long yanbu.

Best to challenge it. What have you got to lose