Could I lose my driving licence for this car park incident?

[Yuapp]

I went to Lidl today and as I pulled into the car park I realised I didn’t have my bank card. I picked up my phone to ask my DD if she could bring it over (we live a 5 min drive and she was due to be driving past that way around that time).

She didn’t answer so I went back to get it and then came back and parked.

it said no return within four hours, I guess that means I’ve got a ticket with the ANPR? My bigger concern is that I was definitely holding my phone when I went through the cameras. Will I also get points? Will it go to the police? I know I shouldn’t have picked it up at all, I am going through a horrendous personal time at the moment and not sleeping and very stressed. Not an excuse I am just explaining I am not usually so silly!

Go into the store and speak to a manager and explain. No you won't lose your licence.

@Tcateh its a separate anpr company so not associated to the store

If you were on private land when phoning and not on the public road I don't think you can be prosecuted for being on the phone.

It's doubtful they'd report it to the police because the point of the ANPR cameras is to generate revenue, not police people for other offences.

Either the system will automatically generate a fine and post it out to you, or someone will review the image first. But in either case the aim is to check that your number plate is clear so they can issue a fine. There's no benefit to them for reporting you for being on your phone so it's unlikely they'll contact the police even if they happen to notice.

If you do get a fine you could probably successfully appeal it with the store (not the parking company if different) based on the fact you weren't really "parked" the first time. I base this on the fact that if you were parked in a space you probably wouldn't be worried about being on the phone. You'd need to check the signs for the exact terms and conditions but this is the sort of fine that regularly gets dismissed as a gesture of goodwill.

2 totally separate things OP. The returning to car park within 4 hours may be enforced by a private parking company and if they pursue it then you will get a charge in the post in a couple of weeks. If this does happen you could consider appealing as you never actually parked the first time. Using your phone whilst driving is a police matter, they didn’t catch you so nothing will come of it now. Just don’t do it again because it’s dangerous.

I don't know if relevant but were your two visits within the time allowed from your first entry? I've seen online that ANPR often misses it if someone exits and returns, so it just counts the first entry and final exit. It could be worth an appeal if it did pick up 2 visits, but they were both within the original time limit.

@CatsorDogsrule yes it was all within the 1.5 hours allowed in total

I thought the no return in 4 hours thing was if you had been there for the max time allowed not just 5 minutes ?

@vix3rd i thought that initially too but then when I considered it in more detail I concluded it couldn’t be as people could do that repeatedly all day? I read the sign but it wasn’t clear

The ban on using a phone specifically applies to driving on a road. Unlikely the police would attempt to apply it to you in a private car park. I also think the chances of anyone at the parking company giving two hoots are zero- they just want your reg for the fine.

Worst case scenario is a parking fine
You won't get points let alone lose your licence

Unfortunately you probably won't get points for that but you should. Just keep off your bloody phone when driving.