Am I A Customer?

[smartypants10101]

I parked my car on halfords car park last week, and saw a parking attendant stood there , i asked him if i could park on the car park while i went to a cash machine , when i returned to the store the part i wanted wasnt in stock, so i bought a car air freshener., when i returned to my vehicle there was a penalty notice on it , i challenged the attendant , asked him to void the ticket as i have made a purchase. he replied , what have you bought, i told him an air freshener, and he said the ticket stands because im not a customer as ive only bought a 1 pound air freshener, , do i need to spend more than a pound to be classed as a customer? , i think not, as far as im a concerned you dont have to even make a purchase to be a customer, i thought you become a customer as soon as you cross there thresh hold and continue been a customer until u have actually left the store. Is this correct?Basically the attendant is saying i am not a customer as i have only spent a pound,

[hc4361]

Did you see any signs that stated a minimum spend was required?

[jackthehat]

How long were you parked for?

[smartypants10101]

yes 45 mins per customer
, on halfords car park, i wnet to cash machine at first before i wentinstore which ended up been a 12 min walk there and 12back then i went instore, and made my purchase , so im a customer surely?, and if i am , why has he issued a ticket to a customer thats well wityhin the 45 mins time limit

[Hopkirk]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/bills/article-3487966/Been-slapped-unfair-parking-fine-s-easier-fight-thanks-free-online-tool.html

Any help?

[Gavmacp]

I think they don't have a leg to stand on. I sometimes go to shops but they might not have it what I am looking for or I don't see anything I like.

[fiction-factory]

The £1 figure is rubbish unless the parking terms and conditions clearly state a minimum spend level which you fell below. Maybe they think you only bought the air freshener after you had been given a ticket in order to try to get it removed, and maybe you had exceeded a time limit

[hc4361]

Hopkirk, that link only applies to council car parks. This is a privately owned car park as it for Halford's customers only

[ToraToraTora]

you are a customer as far as I can tell. You don't actually have to buy anything anyway to be deemed a "customer". There's a Halfords near me and I often walk round without actually buying anything.

[Canary42]

If it's Halford's own car park, surely you're a customer the moment you enter it.

[EDDIE51]

You do not have to pay, but the attendant can not withdraw a ticket once it has been issued.There will be an address to write to to dispute the ticket.Write to them and tell them what happened. You will need the receipt for the purchase to prove that you bought something.

[hc4361]

You don't have to buy anything, Eddie. If the item you wanted to buy is not in stock you are not obliged to buy something else just because you've used the car park.

[EDDIE51]

^^ Yes just write to the 'dispute' address and tell them you were a customer and give the car park attendant as a witness. Tell them what the attendant said as well as that was out of order!

[atalanta]

What if you are a genuine customer wanting a product which they usually sell, but have just sold out of ? Not your fault you can't buy it, so does that make you a customer or a not-customer if you leave empty-handed ?

[smartypants10101]

the problem is he has typed the ticket out and when i told him i had made a purchase he asked what the item was and its value, when he heard it was a pound air freshener he went into a strop and started an argument saying i want a customer, and i have tried to be a smartypants but i think i am right when i say i do not even have to make any purchase at all to be a customer

[RATTER15]

I imagine the attendant assumed you weren't actually a customer, you parked up, went and done some shopping for a short time, came back and popped into Halfords and spent £1 for the free parking.

I have done it myself, popped into the shop and bought a Mars or something similar so I can present a receipt on returning to my car. It worked every time I done it.

[Old_Geezer]

Can't you just ignore it ?
Keep the air freshener receipt safe.

[Peter Pedant]

Of course you keep everything receipts etc

appeal along the usual channels and copy in the CEO of Halfords to the correspondence perhaps with comments that your appetite to shopt at halfords has been dampened

[Peter Pedant]

I dont know why peple are pussy footing about this
you went into Halfords
got something
got the receipt
ergo you are a customer

scream loudly and screw up your little fists .... ( a la Violet Elizabth Bott )

[fiction-factory]

Yes PP. But what if you didn't comply with the rules and went and shopped elsewhere then on returning to your car you saw you'd been given a ticket- so you nip in and buy something for a £1. Were you a customer at the time you got the ticket ?
Anyway, as you have a receipt and seem to have complied with the rules you will be successful if you complain. You could just ignore it of course and see if they drop the matter

[silliemillie]

I think the problem here is that you didn't enter their store until 25 minutes after you parked up. Even then only buying the cheapest item after you had got a ticket.

They think you are trying to be a 'Smartypants' but they must get people doing this all the time.