Parking Fine At Aldi Car Park When Closed

[sten102]

Hi, I have received a £70 parking fine for parking in an Aldi car park in Southville, Bristol, on a Sunday after 4pm when the store was closed. The sign there says 'Aldi customers only' and '90 minutes limit'. I went 17 minutes over, but the fact is that the car park was nearly empty as it was outside of the Aldi opening times. Does anyone think I have a case for appeal to POPLA? (Paid Parking Company have already rejected my appeal to them) Surely if it's for Aldi customers only, it means when the store is open??!

[Zacs-Master]

What grounds did they give for rejection?

[gingejbee]

...for Aldi customers only, when you are actually shopping in Aldi.
So, when they are closed, you are not an Aldi customer.....

[Buenchico]

You can't have been an Aldi customer after 4pm so (other than the time it might have taken you to get through the checkouts and back to your car) you had no legitimate reason to park there (irrespective of the actual duration of your stay).

So I can't see that you've got a valid case.

Aldi in Stowmarket (which has since closed) used to have a really rigorous 'customers only' policy. If their car park supervisor saw that someone who'd just completed their shopping visit to Aldi walked out of the car park (even for a few seconds) to, say, look in the window of a nearby shop they always received a ticket. Plenty of people complained and tried to challenge those tickets but, to the best of my knowledge, none of them ever succeeded.

[webbo3]

Trouble is its all residents permits around there, i know the area very well and my parent live 3 mins walk away,

George ferguson the former mayor with an interest in the tobacco factory seems to be telling people to park on the residentual streets nearby.

Im not sure when the resident only permits are in force.

https://www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com/getting-here/

\\PARKING
Parking is available in the local area surrounding the theatre but please be aware of restrictions. If you would like further information please call our Box Office on 0117 902 0344. Please also be aware that we are located close to Ashton Gate stadium and parking can therefore be difficult on match days.//

[bhg481]

I would argue that the phrase "ALDI customers only" is vague. If asked in a survey if I was a Sainsbury's customer I would say "Yes" on the grounds that I shop there most weeks. Clearly that should not give me the right to park in any Sainsbury's at any time but I think that 17 minutes after closing time, so long as you have been in the store, should give you exemption from a fine.

[fiction-factory]

It's not clear to me that he did leave at 17 minutes after closing time- it could be that the 17 minutes refers to how lonh he overstayed the 90 minutes.
There was someone on here very recently who managed to avoid a parking charge notice by measuring the size of the signs, establishing they hadn't got council approval for the sign etc and showing that the operator was a member of a particular body. You could go down that route if you have plenty of time to investigate.
Did the sign mention anything about whether parking is allowed/no allowed when the store is closed?
It would help to know the reason given for rejecting your appeal

[fiction-factory]

^and showing that the operator was NOT a member of a particular body. (however I think your parking company ( I know they are not called Paid Parking Company but AB changes the name to that) probably is an authorised provider

[hc4361]

Why did you think it okay to park on private property? I don't think you have reason to appeal.

[pjgriffo]

That would really annoy me. Stop shopping in Aldi, switch to Lidl until such time as you recoup your £70 from their cheaper prices.

[hc4361]

My local Lidl has the same parking restrictions.

[AnnT]

Is it a 'Penalty charge notice' or a 'Parking charge notice'? If it's the latter, then it's an invoice not a fine. According to Martin Lewis, the Money Saving Expert bloke, you should just ignore it ... their only recourse is to take you to court and they never do apparently.

[hc4361]

FF, the sign states 'for customers only'. That's clear enough - if you're not shopping in store you cannot park there at any time.

[sunny-dave]

AnnT - that is extraordinarily dangerous advice - the law changed several years ago and Martin Lewis certainly does not advise that course of action these days.

[hc4361]

Martin Lewis has changed his stance on that, AnnT, as so many people are being taken to court for non-payment and losing. It's obviously a parking charge notice as it's on private land.

He states that drivers should appeal if the sign is unclear, missing or the information on the ticket is wrong, for example you were 45 minutes not over an hour or whatever.

[Hopkirk]

Pay the charge, put it down to experience and move on.

[fiction-factory]

>FF, the sign states 'for customers only'. That's clear enough - if you're not shopping in store you cannot park there at any time.

Yes, i realise that's the idea. But whilst it's obviously perfectly reasonable that they don't want non-Aldi customers parking there when the store is open, I'm not quite sure what the loss is to Aldi if someone parks there on a Sunday night after the store has shut, appart from very minor marginal wear and tear. I thought the courts at one time said the charge had to in some way reflect the actual loss, but maybe the views have change don this.
If they really don't want people parking outside shopping hours maybe they should have a night time barrier that stops people getting in or out, or a sign that makes it clear no parking is allowed outside certain hours.

[bhg481]

You could argues that if you've ever bought anything in an ALDI store, you are an ALDI customer, so are entitled to park there.

[hc4361]

Many supermarkets and similar don't want to put barriers up at the car parks for several reasons:
Staff often work round the clock and need to park
Emergency services need quick access in case of fire, etc
Lorries need to enter to unload
It causes a real problem if the barrier malfunctions

[EDDIE51]

Yes appeal. It NOT a fine by the way it's just an invoice for using the car park. The parking companies make the notice look like a fine.
If you do not pay the ONLY thing the parking company can do is take the case to the county court. They will not do that as it will cost them £1500 to start the case with no guarantee of success or being awarded costs.
I had the same, parked in a company car park that said it was only used / reserved when the company was open. It was a Sunday so they were not using it. I appealed to POPLA and won.

[fiction-factory]

Good points HC. But I think it would be good practice to make it clear on the sign (if they haven't already) that the restrictions also apply when the store is shut- and maybe even say NO private parking is allowed out of hours