Aldi car parking charge

Shirley2153

I have received a parking charge notice from Aldi's parking eye. My crime is to be parked at Aldi for 1 hour and 6 minutes (below the 90 minutes allowed) but, when the store was closed. I do qualify as an Aldi customer and have done for several years, however not on this occasion. There are no signs stating no parking outside of opening hours.

As there are more court summons being instigated, should I ignore my notice or write an appeal. Your advice/opinion would be appreciated. If I should send an appeal I need to do it soon, I was going to ignore prior to reading about the increased incidence of proceedings and my 28 days are running out.

Dave_TH

Shirley2153 wrote: »

I have received a parking charge notice from Aldi's parking eye. My crime is to be parked at Aldi for 1 hour and 6 minutes (below the 90 minutes allowed) but, when the store was closed. I do qualify as an Aldi customer and have done for several years, however not on this occasion. There are no signs stating no parking outside of opening hours.

As there are more court summons being instigated, should I ignore my notice or write an appeal. Your advice/opinion would be appreciated. If I should send an appeal I need to do it soon, I was going to ignore prior to reading about the increased incidence of proceedings and my 28 days are running out.

put in a soft appeal, deny you owe them anything as the charge is unlawful and a penalty.

Get a POPLA code and do a real appeal, should be simple

bazster

Yes, write an appeal (or, rather, a challenge). Make it short-but-sweet - they'll reject it anyway so no point in wasting time on it - and come back when you've got the POPLA code.

And do write to Aldi telling them in the strongest possible terms that you are an ex-customer, and why. And join the campaign by posting your thoughts on Aldi's Facebook page.

Curs,

Ref your speculative invoice no. XXXXXXXXXX.

The keeper denies all liability for this spurious charge on the grounds that no contract exists between the driver and yourselves.

No further correspondence will be entered into. If you wish to waste further time and effort on this send me a POPLA code. Your failure to do so within 35 days will indicate your acceptance of this challenge.

Up yours,

R. Keeper

Hovite_2

bazster wrote: »

And join the campaign by posting your thoughts on Aldi's Facebook page.

Definitely this !

Coupon-mad

Have you seen this ongoing thread?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4660007

When you've sent the short appeal, next phone up the local Council Planning Dept. Ask (1) whether the 90 minutes parking is a requirement of the Planning Consent for that car park and (2) were they aware that Parking Eye are running a business in the car park (charging an extortionate amount for parking) so it should be subject to business rates. Follow it up with email details to the Council contact explaining what's happening there - drop PE right in it and ask the Council NOT to identify you.

Not joking. Do it!

The first question will help you if they say that people CAN park for 90 minutes even if Aldi is shut, as the car park may well have to serve local businesses and shops too (very common). And the second question about running a business in the car park is just the first part of your revenge for this scam.

The second part will then be to complain to Aldi and just say you are a regular customer and have a pile of receipts to prove it but can't find one from that day seeing as Parking Eye sneakily post fake PCN days/weeks later. Ring the number on the Aldi thread or email them as shown in that thread, get angry about the harassment whether or not you shopped there that day (particularly if the Planning Consent lawfully allows you to park!).

Winning at POPLA will complete your fightback in the end (please tell us when you get a POPLA code).

m33r4

Just on a side note about Aldi - My local Aldi fines anyone who parks on their site, irrelevant of how long for, if you fail to go in and give the cashier your car registration number. Aldi only want their shoppers to park in their car park.

However, I don't know if this fine system is still operational during closing hours.

Coupon-mad

m33r4 wrote: »

Just on a side note about Aldi - My local Aldi fines anyone who parks on their site, irrelevant of how long for, if you fail to go in and give the cashier your car registration number. Aldi only want their shoppers to park in their car park.

However, I don't know if this fine system is still operational during closing hours.

It is not a fine at all. It's an invoice impersonating a parking ticket; no-one should PAY them!

Doesn't matter what Aldi 'want' if the local Council 'wanted' something else when they granted Planning Permission for the car park!

In Portslade near Brighton, Parking Eye put a sign up saying 'Aldi customers only'. It lasted about a week because another poster here reported them to the Council Planning Dept (the car park was also for local shoppers as is often the case). A few other similar recent cases have been reported on the Aldi facebook page last week.

And Aldi Portslade also 'wanted' to change the length of parking time at the Portslade store so they just put a sign up changing it. And Aldi promptly got a REAL FINE in Court, thanks to the Council Planning Dept - and the forum poster (not me) who reported the breach to them of course!

LINKY

Aldi cannot dictate such things unless they're sure it fits with the local planning consent.

McKneff

They don't have the authority to fine you at all.

Only the police and the courts have this authority.

I wouldn't even waste your time appealing, just absolutey ignore every thing they send you, simple as that.#

Coupon-mad

McKneff wrote: »

They don't have the authority to fine you at all.

Only the police and the courts have this authority.

I wouldn't even waste your time appealing, just absolutey ignore every thing they send you, simple as that.#

Not any more when Parking Eye have sent out a few hundred small claims to 'ignorers'. A strong POPLA appeal is the way to fight back now.

Shirley2153

I just wanted to thank you all for your help and advise.
I contacted Aldi as suggested and spoke to a pleasant lady who after listening to the circumstances surrounding the original charge cancelled it there and then. RESULT

trisontana

It's a pity that ALDI don't publicize the fact that you can contact them directly on posters in their stores, on the parking signs and on the letters sent out by PE. This question has been asked on ALDI's Facebook page time after time and all you get is the cut and pasted reply "anyone who feels unhappy about this charge can contact us directly". All well and good if you are on Facebook, but what about all those people who aren't, or even don't have access to the internet.

Instead they get the threatening and official looking letters from PE, cave in and pay up.