Parking fine at Sainsburys superstore

[MyCheekyEagle]

Recently I did a big shop at Sainsburys, which included trying & buying clothes and a big food shop. I ended up over staying by 18 minutes & have a parking fine from Euro car parks.
I sometimes read that people refuse to pay these extortionate parking fines to private companies. Is this true, has anyone ever not paid and got away with it?
I'm really cross that I have been penalised for buying clothes as well as my big shop 😡

Can't you jus go now and sort it

It's not an invoice. It's a claim for breach of contract that can be settled by a set amount (£50 in this case).

I had one of those earlier this year. The circumstances were a little annoying (the cashpoint at Sainsbury's was out of order and the main reason I overstayed was that I walked into town to find one that was working) but ultimately I'd committed the infringement I'd been fined for and couldn't have proved mitigating circumstances so I just paid it. I'm still petulantly boycotting Sainsbury's because it's not particularly inconvenient to use another supermarket.

It is not a breach of contract, it is just the contractual terms: you can park under 2 hours for free or for more than 2 hours (or whatever) for £50.

Ah so you DO agree with the advice on the MSE thread!

The CAB is a wonderful organisation with a great ethos and a good starting point for people who have no where to go, but specialist advice it isn't. You might get lucky but it's unlikely they would be able to guide you through challenging a parking ticket. As is proved by you saying it can't be done based on the CAB advice.

No, the contract is free parking for two hours. If you stay longer you've breached the contract and the company can pursue you through the civil courts for that breach. To avoid that you can pay the penalty charge of £50 which settles the civil course of action. Or, you can challenge the allegation of breach, either by arguing the company has not upheld their side of the contract (insufficient signage etc) or by arguing that in pursuing the suit they are deviating from the broad purpose of the contract which is to provide parking for shop customers (which is when you ask the shop for help and show your receipts).

I recently had this at a Sainsburys. In my case I'd paid for 2 hours and left the car park before the two hours was up. Unfortunately I did not realise that I also had to pay for the 10 minutes or so between driving into the carpark, finding a parking space, unpacking the bags etc and sorting out the ticket. Currently disputing it.

Won't be going back to that Sainsbury's in a hurry. Sounds like they need a new car park provider.

My actual experience advising people about parking tickets counters your claim. There are very few grounds on which these types of tickets can be disputed, that’s the bottom line and that’s the advice that would be given if someone in OP’s position were to contact CAB. And as I’ve said before usually it’s gone way further down the line by the time people come to CAB where options are even worse.

That thread, which I have now skimmed, is ridiculously convoluted and I feel aimed at those with more time and energy than most who would in the cold light of day accept that they overstayed and therefore have to cough up. I’ve dealt with many ticket holders who want to fight “out of principle” (mostly men as it happens) in which case all one can do is point out the law and the possible repercussions of not paying.

Go into Sainsbury's with your receipt and the fine and they normally get it cancelled.

Its your money to throw away, but you only need to speak to Sainsbury's to get it cancelled

This might not be the case if the carpark is shared amongst various stores eg in a retail park scenario where no one store has control over the parking provision / enforcement.

Email sainsbury's head office. Say you did not realise the time limit, you were shopping etc. Offer apologies, reiterate you are a genuine customer, ask if they can help. It has worked for me in the past. If no joy, then I would follow the appeal process. There are loads of resources to help with appeals online, just search parking charge forum. Good luck OP.

Happened to me in B&Q. We followed the appeal process on the fine letter and sent in the receipt but could you send a copy of your bank statement instead as will show you were a customer. They agreed to cancel mine.

When it happened to me, I rang Sainsbury's, told them how much I had spent etc. and they cancelled it. Be sure to ask them to email you and confirm, they almost had the wrong details for mine.

They never asked me for any proof, though.

You may be right, I was under the impression Sainsburys car parks were ran by Horizon

If you’ve lost your receipt can you show them your bank statemEnt?

At least you have now read it. Perhaps you should have done so before rudely declaring that my advice was terrible advice. I am pretty sure sainsbury's will cancel the parking ticket since op had clearly been in sainsbury's the whole time and was not trying to get away with anything. It is not in their interests to penalise paying customers.

Name the driver as someone living in China. I did this and it got written off the next day.

Btw my comment was aimed at your reply which agreed with a poster who basically stated the position in the same way as how that thread frames it but you don't seem to see the contradiction.

I think with Eurocarparks that if you appeal the reduced rate still applies until they tell you if your appeal was successful or not. If not successful you then have the 2 weeks again.

OP, check this, but I would submit an appeal with a screenshot of your bank statement and an explanation of why it took you a long time in the shop. I think they'll probably write it off. I have had 4 or 5 parking fines written off with a polite appeal and some evidence.

You submit the appeal online so it's instant, no waiting for the post to get there on time!

Exactly - you advise them not to challenge, which may be pragmatic (especially for people who would find it too complicated) but that doesn't mean that detailed advice about how you can challenge tickets if you wish to is terrible advice. You see people when it is already too late to challenge or people who aren't capable of challenging not people who have just received the fine and have detailed legal advice as to what to do next and the will to do so. You are comparing apples and pears.

If you used your nectar card then sainsburys will be able to retrieve your receipt