A father who says he loves Lidl has been left fuming after receiving a £100 parking fine due to what he describes as a “crazy” and “unfair” rule at his favourite store.
Shopper Perry Rand was shocked to find himself penalised for parking his work van in an overflow area at the Brooklands branch, where commercial vehicles are banned. National Parking Control enforces this regulation.
The 36-year-old said: “It’s crazy. I proved I was using Lidl, and now I am being charged £100 just to use the shop for five minutes. I’ve never, ever had anything like this before, and I have had a van since I was 17.”
Perry, a father of two from Weybridge in Surrey, also blasted the car park’s signage, arguing that it was inadequate and not easily seen by motorists, reports Surrey Live.
On the matter, a representative for Lidl remarked: “We always want our customers to have a positive experience when shopping with us and are sorry to hear that this was not the case on this occasion.”
“Unfortunately, the car parks across The Paddock Retail Park are not owned or operated by Lidl, therefore, in the extremely unfortunate event that a customer believes they have wrongfully received a parking charge, we encourage them appeal directly with the car park management company.”
Perry, however, argues that the car park signage was not clear. He said: “If I’m not allowed to park there, they should have larger signs up. I had no reason to look at the small print as a shop customer.
“Without clear signage, I don’t think it’s fair. Why shouldn’t you be able to use your commercial vehicle? A lot of van drivers don’t have a second car.”
Perry, who held out hope for an appeal against the parking charge on grounds of ambiguous signage. However, his appeal was unsuccessful.
Perry said: “I feel totally let down by them, and the worst thing is that I love that shop. I don’t understand the need for it”.
The Express has contacted National Parking Control for an official response.
Changes to private car park regulations are in the pipeline, with the government enforcing adherence to a code of practice to protect drivers from excessive fines. This encompasses requirements for clear signage, appeal procedures, and consideration of extenuating circumstances.
Additionally, there’s a new 10-minute grace period if parking tickets run out. While new car parks will be obliged to comply with these rules from October 1, 2024, existing ones have until the close of 2026.
Under the fresh legislation, those with mitigating factors, such as minor mistakes when inputting their registration details to pay for parking, could see fines reduced to £20.
