Lidle fine for shopping with them!!!

Nikiya

Thanks Pappa Golf but we were there 37 minutes.. so no grace period. Of course we were SHOPPING at Lidl so did not worry about the time. Apparently there is a sign somewhere saying if you are NOT shopping at Lidl you can only stay 10 minutes. The problem is: since you are bombarded ALL THE TIME with ads, I tend to ignore most notices except for road signs!! I do not even know if the parking notice is visible or not. I know as a shopper I can stay more than one hour and never take so long....

pappa_golf

Nikiya wrote: »

Thanks Pappa Golf but we were there 37 minutes.. so no grace period. Of course we were SHOPPING at Lidl so did not worry about the time. Apparently there is a sign somewhere saying if you are NOT shopping at Lidl you can only stay 10 minutes. The problem is: since you are bombarded ALL THE TIME with ads, I tend to ignore most notices except for road signs!! I do not even know if the parking notice is visible or not. I know as a shopper I can stay more than one hour and never take so long....

AND , what does the MANAGER say , about the bad signage , both on the entry signs and around the check in terminal?

Coupon-mad

Oh, why so many threads just asking how to appeal when it is covered in the NEWBIES thread and on every thread you read...simply appeal to Athena telling them you have complained to Lidl. Attach receipt copies. DO NOT say who was driving, say 'we'.

Redx

never volunteer information, you are effectively the defendant and should follow the "no comment" principle

they could ask you for your bank card details and CVV number and pin number too, but there are good reasons not to pass those details on

it is their job to prove their case, so they try to trip people up and you are of the mindset whereby you are seeking to help them

as for appealing , you follow whatever instructions they give on their paperwork or their website (its not our job to tell you how to appeal - it is their job)

use whatever method they give you PROVIDING you do not divulge the drivers details (even if you do not understand why)

Nikiya

A couple of days ago we received a note from ATHENA cancelling the fine. Many thanks to everybody!!

Coupon-mad

Good news; complaining to Lidl always works. Why Supermarkets persist in aggressively 'fining' customers is beyond me. Surely ONE of them will wake up and smell the coffee soon? But when Asda kicked out Smart, what did they go and do, brought in even worse ParkingEye!

You could not make the stupidity of these supermarket 'top suits' up.

t4cett

Hi there,

I received a fine from Athena because I was 13 minutes over the 90 minutes free parking.... I had been in and spent £87 and just shopped slowly as I was killing time whilst my son was at football training. I didn't know anything about the 90 minute limit because it was dark and freezing when I got there, I parked and went in without thinking to look for any signage about parking..... because I was shopping at LIDL!!

The worst part is I was only in for that long because as ever there was only 1 till open and - as usual, I had been overcharged so had to go back to the till!!

Please help... I read online to just ignore the letter as it is fraudulent but I'm scared they will persue me and the 28 days is up or about to be! What should I do? I'm a single Mum, self employed/self sufficient but on low income can't afford £90.... if I could I wouldn't be shopping at Lidl lets face it!

Many thanks!

pappa_golf

why not read the posts above yours and do the same as the OP ?

Redx

and please start a NEW THREAD using the red NEW THREAD button

t4cett

Sorry, only just joined this forum and not used a forum before so don't know how they work yet or even what OP means. I'll try to work out what they did, it seemed like a lot of the information I've read so far is conflicting - ignore/don't ignore - appeal / don't appeal.

Now I don't know much about this but would like some advice if anyone does.....

Am I right in believing for the document to have any clout or be "lawful" (from Athena) it should state exactly who and where (ie which department) the letter came from and be Signed by an actual person (in ink). It should also not be a letter of demand but of polite request / informing...... The letter I have received is basically a DEMAND for money with threats of court action ..... or extortion with menace - a criminal offense.

If the letter is actual an INVOICE as I have seen someone state then would this mean that as a company Athena are enforcing a contract on me when I have NOT chosen to do business with their company? If so, should a return of the said letter with words to the effect of "No joinder, no contract. Noted for and on the record as Fraudulent" be a correct response??
And surely, if I respond in any other way - for example by appealing - wouldn't that then be seen in law as me ACCEPTING their authority and seeking their business out - effectively tying me into their ridiculous parking contract??
Thank you.