Athena Civil Parking Charge Lidl

claireL

Hi. I have received by post an ATHENA civil parking charge.Currently £45 if I pay before 9th July 18. (giving me 7 days). Doubling if I pay after.
I shopped at the Lidl in Bexley Heath, Kent, entering car park at 20:47, exiting 22:45. The store closes at 22:00. My allocated time (not that I took much notice as I knew store would close & car park would be empty) was 1hr 30.
I did head to frankie & bennys after to get my kids some supper, over running by 27 minutes, BUT the store had closed BEFORE this overstay.....Do I have ground as the store didn't actually loose any money during my overstay due to my parking? I can provide bank statement, receipt long gone, and am not local to Bexley, I'm from Somerset. My daughter is in Uni there & shops weekly at Lidl on the bus....I shop regularly at my local one.
They said grace period is 14 days to only pay £45… is it 21days if its cctv proof and has arrived to me by post?
Do you recommend I contact Lidl CEO initially? Do you think I need to say I absolutely will not pay as I am a customer & have proof, and it did not lose them any £ ? Thoughts please...worried I won't get this done in 7 days!
Thank you in advance....Claire.

Coupon-mad

Do you recommend I contact Lidl CEO initially?

Yes, that's the only way these Athena ones are cancelled, as you will have read in 'SUCCESSFUL COMPLAINTS ABOUT PPCS' (a thread with loads of recent Lidl wins posted at the end of it, and it's linked in the NEWBIES thread). We are so busy, we have to assume newbies have read this info.

and it did not lose them any £ ?

No, that is not an argument for parking fine cases, forget it.

Who cares about any daft seven days...? For Goodness' sake stop jumping to an artificial deadline that makes no odds at all. You could get the Lidl CEO to cancel this after 77 days if you wanted!

Stop thinking the 'discount' (bribe) means something. You won't be PAYING! No worries. EASY.

beamerguy

YES first port of call is the CEO/MD

LIDL UK
Mr Christian Härtnagel Managing Director

Email Dispute.Resolution@lidl.co.uk

Request the ticket is cancelled.

Provide proof of being their customer

"Do they still want you as a customer"

Christian Härtnagel is well versed about the scammers he employs

By the way regarding ANPR .... the BPA has already confirmed
on BBC watchdog that the system is NOT 100% accurate

Quentin

Please delete your duplication of your post#4 here which you posted in the FAQ directly under the post asking that no posts are made in that info only thread:


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/74477028#Comment_74477028

The_Deep

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and another company have already been named and shamed, as has Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each year). They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

Hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned.

The problem has become so rampant that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. Watch the video of the Second Reading in the HofC recently.

http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2f0384f2-eba5-4fff-ab07-cf24b6a22918?in=12:49:41

and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind they will be out of business by Christmas.

claireL

so....email to ceo of lidl... thoughts please before i send....?
Dear Mr Christian Härtnagel, or whoever may be dealing with his emails.

As a regular Lidl shopper, I was disgusted to receive a letter suggesting I need to pay a civil charge.

I am writing to request that this alleged charge No 0 0--- -28 from Athena ANPR Ltd for simply shopping with yourselves is removed, and that the ticket is cancelled.

I stand under no obligation to pay this charge, and I question your employed company who bully those into paying such said charge 'do they have the right to enforce this?'

There is no joint contract. A contract needs to be of two agreed parties.

You already know if the alleged vehicle was registered as requested at your store stated, as it would be on the receipt code machine if the driver had registered this.

I have attached an image of a more recent till receipt at Lidl in

---

, proving that I (receiver of this letter of alleged charge) am a regular shopper at your store.

I shall give no reasons or excuses.

I also do not believe that staying over an allocated time when the store is actually closed would cause any problems for other Lidl customers who need to park to shop at Lidl. (closing time 10pm....The charge in question states leaving time of after 22:00)

I would like as asked for this charge to be dismissed, as going any further will just cause more unnecessary cost to yourselves, and the company involved. Not to mention the loss of my friends, family, and associates custom.

Many thanks in advance,

Letter receiver.

Quentin

Is there any chance you could deal with the polite request to you in #5 above?

KeithP

Frankly, if I were Mr Härtnagel and I received that email I wouldn't even bother to reply.

For a start, your opening salutation is insulting.

Using words like 'disgusted' would not encourage me to try and help you.

But I guess, as we are all different, you approach may work.

The phrase You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar seems apt.

Coupon-mad

ClaireL, please delete your post that's on the NEWBIES advice thread - wrong place, needs to go!

claireL

I would love to...but I can't seem to find how to do this, can you please direct me? Sorry for this ...I'n not very tec minded on social stuff like forums! .. cant even find my own thread often!

claireL

think i have done that...not sure? deleted the thank you bit..