Lidl car park fine - to pay or not to pay?

sk394

Hi all,

I have received a parking fine because I went over by 15 minutes. I am really annoyed as it it took me 10 minutes to get a parking space in the first place in the Lidl car park.

Another thread said to ignore the letters but seeing as that thread is old, I want to know if they have received any new powers that means I should just pay and get it over with.

I have been trying to contact my local lidl but they do not advertise the number on their website :mad:

Please help!

Thanks in advance!

Stroma

Hi there a few questions

1) is this England or Wales ?
2) are you the registered keeper?
3) was this a ticket on car or through post?
4) if through the post did it arrive within 14 days?
5) if on the car have you received the notice to keeper?
6) are you 18 or over?

Thanks

Trebor16

It is not a fine for starters, and the company that issued it have no legal power to issue fines.

Don't ignore it, but do read the sticky posts on here on how to deal with it. I think the advice now is as follows:-

1. Wait until you get a notice to keeper through the post from the company.
2. Make an appeal to them.
3. When they reject your appeal (as they most likely will) then make sure you get a POPLA code and submit an appeal to POPLA.

If that is not the right way to do it then I know someone will happily correct me.

There are plenty of threads about how to make your initial appeal and how to make the appeal to POPLA.

Stroma

Yes you are right about it not being fine, but lets wait to see if the OP is in Scotland or NI first.

babs86

I have just had the same thing happen to me . I have a receipt for my shopping I was 19 mins over my time. Lidl customer service told me to send a copy of the reciept and explain that I had to wait for a parking space to athena. I replied not a problem but if I have to pay I will bring back the items I bought for a full refund to pay my fine.

zzzLazyDaisy

If you need advice plz start a new thread.

Coupon-mad

I have been trying to contact my local lidl but they do not advertise the number on their website

Local stores have the phone number on their receipts usually!

But 2 people in post #2 on this sticky thread of successful complaints got Athena tickets cancelled recently, by complaining by email to the MD of Lidl:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4766249

And in any case you can easily beat Athena at POPLA by appealing and then getting help once you have your POPLA code. You won't be paying if you complain and appeal in time (then do a good POPLA appeal if need be, with our help).

Athena Notice to Keeper letters are not compliant (see so you could win at POPLA on that basis and/or on no genuine pre-estimate of loss, or other points of appeal that we know POPLA will uphold.

See this thread re the flaws in the Notice to Keeper:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4805009

Stroma

And by the way Athena has not taken anyone to court in at least the last 12 months , see this thread and the foi request in it

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4806028

sk394

Stroma wrote: »

Hi there a few questions

1) is this England or Wales ?
2) are you the registered keeper?
3) was this a ticket on car or through post?
4) if through the post did it arrive within 14 days?
5) if on the car have you received the notice to keeper?
6) are you 18 or over?

Thanks

This is in England and my father i the registered keep and he received it through the post within 14 days and yes i am over 18.

Coupon-mad

So it is time to send a basic challenge to Athena then (attach a copy of your receipt if you have it) and to complain in writing or by email at the same time to the Head Office of Lidl. As per the 'Successful complaints about PPCs' sticky thread near the top of the forum (tells you how to complain in post # 3 and who to complain to, as well as showing the 2 cancelled Lidl cases, so far, linked in post #2).

Come back if you get a POPLA code as you will need certain wording to win that stage appeal.

trujimana

Hi!

I'm new to the forum so not sure which is the best place to post this but I wanted to share this information since it may be useful to others (this forum and other sites were very useful sources when preparing my reply, so I wanted to give something back).

After receiving a NTK from Athena ANPR Ltd. I sent them the email below and they cancelled the parking charge :j:

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to you with reference to Notice to Keeper number (insert reference number on Notice to Keeper) regarding an alleged parking incident on (insert date) at (insert name of store and full address).
In order to take an informed decision on how to deal with the above-mentioned document I would like to request further information on this alleged incident and the alleged parking charges of £(insert amount).
First of all, your Notice to Keeper mentions a company called Athena ANPR Ltd. but fails to identify the actual creditor making this parking charge demand, as required under Schedule 4 paragraphs 8(2)(h) and 9(2)(h) of the PoFA 2012. Therefore I would like you to send me this information, since I need to know exactly who is making the claim and in what capacity.
I would also like to receive all photographic evidence that you hold on this alleged incident since the image you have included in your document of (insert date) as alleged evidence of the vehicle exiting the car park is a blurry picture of an unidentifiable vehicle in an unidentifiable location. I do not expect to pay for this information as it would be disclosable in any future court proceedings.
I would be very grateful if you could send me evidence that besides your management duties within the car park, you also enjoy the rights of possession or occupation needed to be able to enter into an individual contract with drivers and to issue parking charge notices. I therefore require you to send me a copy of the contract that gives you authority to demand these payments together with the instructions that you have received from (insert store name) regarding the time limits and sanctions they wish to impose on their customers.
Further to the above, please explain fully on which of the following grounds your claim is based: trespass, breach of contract or contractually-agreed sum. Please note that if you are claiming that trespass was committed, I would like to receive a full breakdown of the actual loss suffered by your business or the landowner which could give rise to your claim for damages. If on the other hand you are claiming there was a breach of contract or a contractually-agreed sum, I would like to receive a copy of the contract which the driver allegedly entered into.

Please note that I do not wish to receive a standard template answer which fails to address the specific issues that I have raised with you.

I look forward to receiving your acknowledgement within 14 days and a comprehensive reply within 35 days (in accordance with the BPA AOS Code of Practice B.22.8). Only then will I be able to make an informed decision as to how I shall respond to your Notice to Keeper.

Yours sincerely,

Five days later I received an email saying the following:

Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for your email in regards to the above parking charge.
Please be advised your charge has been cancelled and confirmation is attached
Please ignore any further letters that may be received as nothing remains outstanding.
Regards
Athena ANPR Ltd

Good luck to all of you going through the unpleasant experience of dealing with this company. Hopefully we'll manage to put these parking cowboys out of business soon! :T