Aldi Parking Eye - Successful Appeal with apology from Aldi...

AmaniA

It seems that the number plate recognition systems (ANPR) in many Aldi store (and other) car parks managed by Parking Eye (and other companies) are failing to provide accurate evidence of parking infractions. And this is resulting in customers using the same store to shop more than once in a 24 hour period receiving unfair, unwarranted parking fines. Either it’s a technical issue or Parking Eye and other firms are hoping people will not be able to prove they are innocent and therefore i have to assume it’s a scam.

Apparently it’s called Double Dipping. And this thread shows how you can successfully appeal, report the private parking companies, the DVLA, and the landowner for GDPR breaches, and perhaps even claim for your time and inconvenience.

Double Dipping’s been covered in the National press and by BBC’s Watchdog in the past. It happens all the time, so why the private parking companies haven’t fixed it and the DVLA haven’t addressed it is open to debate...

First tip that may help: FIND YOUR SHOPPING RECEIPTS OR ASK THE STORE YOU WERE VISITING FOR COPIES - yes apparently if you paid cash you can do this, read the thread... - or get a copy of the transactions from your bank or CC company

I really hope this post helps others. And the more each person who gets one of these unfair parking penalty demands does what I did, the more time and money we’ll cost those organisations who still fail to fix the issue at our expense and inconvenience. But I do have to point out that this thread is not for anyone trying to challenge a parking charge if they’ve overstayed or haven't complied with the parking terms. If that’s happened this isn’t necessarily the thread for you.

I’ve taken out contact names and contact info, but I will happily provide these if someone wants to use as part of an appeal, complaint or court action.

With the approach I took, my parking ticket was cancelled via Aldi in less than 24 hours. Although please note that Parking Eye have not send me a notification of the cancellation yet and all I’ve received from them so far is an unhelpful automated email response.

Anyway... Here’s how I tackled it.

I appealed to Parking Eye and sent the below to Aldi U.K. And I also copied in Aldi’s CEO:

My Parking Eye / Aldi case - fined for loyalty

I shop in Aldi between 1 and 3 times a week. A loyal customer

On the 26 and 27th Jan 2019 myself and my husband shopped there on 2 separate occasions on 2 consecutive days. Leaving the car park on 26th immediately after our Aldi shopping trip and then returning to the same car park again just before our 2nd Aldi shopping trip that weekend on 27th.

So... my husband has now received a parking infraction notice and £70 fine demand from PE for leaving his car there for 21 plus hours? - seriously, what is wrong with them! Why are their cameras not working properly, is it a scam?

We’ve appealed sending them the dated Aldi receipts for both separate shopping trips. And we have an electric vehicle so we can actually prove that our car (by VIN number) was charging at our home charging point via the mobile charging app on the night they say the vehicle was left in the Aldi car park overnight.

But i’ve done my research, other people have experienced this - forums and online info tells me this is not a unique case. In fact it’s common. People have been fined for 2 consecutive shopping trips within 24 hours over and over again. And imagine if you’re not like us and you didn’t keep receipts (this was pure luck btw) or don’t have evidence. Lidl and Asda don’t use Parking Eye btw

But legally speaking, I believe that as this same thing has happened to others prior we have the right now to claim compensation for our inconvenience because PE have not fixed a recurring issue they’ve been notified about before on numerous occasions. And what is Aldi’s liability here? They act on your behalf under your instruction and control.

Do you only want customers to shop at you stores say once a week? Please let me know the rules and restrictions on multiple store visits, as a commercial business this would seem to be a bizarre business model, but I think customers need to know.

Please also see the below, just taken from our back and forth with Parking Eye so far - you’ll get the gist...

‘Dear Parking Eye Appeals Department,

It’s disappointing that when your organisation has been negligent in ensuring your systems for accurately establishing correct facts when issuing fines are at fault, you continue to inconvenience me further by insisting on complaints being put in the post.

I will write a physical letter and charge you costs including £100 for my time in having to do it, as you request. Online there are numerous examples of other people being fined by you due to the same error with your cameras in car parks that have led to your mistake with me. As it is easy to prove you haven’t fixed this issue, despite being aware of it prior, I am entitled to charge you costs for having to spend my time on your mistake.

In addition to receipts for Aldi shopping I also have evidence via my home electric charge point app records for my Electric Vehicle (vin number specific) that shows my vehicle was charging at my home on the night you say I left my car in an Aldi car park.

I will happily persue or defend this action by whatever legal action is needed and publicise my story.

Regards”

So Aldi, what’s your take and how are you going to deal with this issue?

ALDI REPLIED QUICKLY:

Good morning

I am writing regarding your correspondence addressed to our CEO, Giles Hurley, who has reviewed your email and asked me to respond on his behalf.

Thank you for contacting us regarding the parking charge you recently received from our Salisbury store.

I have spoken to ParkingEye, who have confirmed that your appeal with them was successful and your charge has now been cancelled.

A confirmation letter has been sent in the post to the registered keeper of the vehicle and should arrive within the next few days.

Once again, thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

Yours sincerely

XXXXX
Aldi Parking Management

Aldi Customer Services
UK 0800 042 0800

Ireland 1800 991 828


I RESPONDED:

Thank you for your email. So it should be dropped immediately. And I expect an apology in writing also. We shouldn’t have been put in a position to have to spend our time appealing this in the first place.

I hope now that Aldi and your CEO are fully aware of the issue that Parking Eye have with their number plate recognition systems being unreliable, you’ll immediately be making sure the same thing doesn’t happen again to any other customers. Having spoken to an expert about this today, the number plate recognition cameras used by Parking Eye are too unreliable when vehicles are queuing one behind the other to be effectively used as evidence of an infraction.

So now you know the issue with parking at your stores relating to this, the onus and legal responsibility is on you as well as Parking Eye to fix this glitch or find a different way of tracking parking timescales.

Regards.

THEY APOLOGISED:

Good afternoon

Thank you for contacting us again. I am happy to hear that the charge has now been cancelled by ParkingEye. I can appreciate how upsetting this must have been for you and I would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Please be assured that your comments regarding the system in place and your concerns regarding a potential glitch have been forwarded to ParkingEye, for monitoring purposes.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to raise your concerns with us.

Yours sincerely


XXXX
Aldi Escalations Team

The_Deep

Copy your MP in on this and write it up on Facebook..

The whole industry is a scam, relying on threats of court, and the public's ignorance of the Law, A bill is currently before parliament which will regulate the scammers, many of whom are ex-clampers.

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of alleged contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors. Is has been suggested by an MP that some of these companies may have connections to organised crime.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, (especially Smart}, and others have already been named and shamed in the House of Commons as have Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each week), hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned. They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

The problem has become so widespread that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers.

Sir Greg Knight's Private Members Bill to curb the excesses, and perhaps close down, some of these companies passed its Second Reading in the Lords this month, and, with a fair wind, will l become Law later this year..

All five readings are available to watch on the internet, (some 7-8 hours), and published in Hansard. MPs have an extremely low opinion of the industry. Many are complaining that they are becoming overwhelmed by complaints from members of the public.

Fruitcake

You could make a claim against PE and Aldi for misuse of your personal date, a breach of the DPA/GDPR if you are up for it. You don't have to show you suffered a loss for this, and the going rate seems to be about £500 to you if you win.
This is a better option that demanding £100 from the scammers as they will just ignore you unless you make a court claim.

You should complain to your MP as advised by the Deep, and also complain to the DVLA that PE used a known unfit for purpose system and have obtained your personal data without any justifiable reason. Point out that they are continuing to use it even though they know it is crap ad not fit for purpose.

The UK Government has banned the use of ANPR systems for car park monitoring in council and local authority car parks because of its know flaws.
It generally operates at between 92 and 97% efficiency, but in your case it suffered a 50% failure rate.

I would be tempted to go back and see if you can get another double dip PCN myself to show how useless, and vindictive, parking lie actually are.

beamerguy

Well done

You did this all by yourself following information you researched

ANPR is already known to be dodgy, even the BPA understands it is not accurate ..... the scammers thrive on it.

I have said many times that the likes of Aldi may seem cheap but get a ticket from their parking clowns and they end up as the most expensive supermarket in the UK

The CEO is always the best to contact, not store managers who are just powerless senior shelf stackers

AmaniA

I’ve put it on FB, Twitter, and every forum where people have had the same issue. I contacted Aldi by every SM option too repeatedly all just yesterday. Unlikely that I’ll shop at Aldi again now, but if I get any more demands from PE - apparently they often chase people even when parking fines have been cancelled too... - i’ll start small claims proceedings for my time and inconvenience

AmaniA

; ) I’ve got my pound of flesh now I think, I was the biggest pain in the A yesterday for Aldi. The apology is enough for now.

I just wanted to share this because other people can now more easily issue a small claims court summons for their inconvenience/time if the same thing happens to them - because there’s written proof I can provide others with that this problem is fully known about by both PE and Aldi and that they have chosen not to rectify it to prevent more people being unfairly affected.

beamerguy

AmaniA wrote: »

I’ve put it on FB, Twitter, and every forum where people have had the same issue. I contacted Aldi by every SM option too repeatedly all just yesterday. Unlikely that I’ll shop at Aldi again now, but if I get any more demands from PE - apparently they often chase people even when parking fines have been cancelled too... - i’ll start small claims proceedings for my time and inconvenience

You have all you need from Aldi

If Parking Eye harass you, go straight to the BPA
{Edited by Forum Team}

Mind you, with a reply we saw on here recently from {Edited by Forum Team}, he appears to have lost the plot anyway

Fruitcake

AmaniA wrote: »

I’ve put it on FB, Twitter, and every forum where people have had the same issue. I contacted Aldi by every SM option too repeatedly all just yesterday. Unlikely that I’ll shop at Aldi again now, but if I get any more demands from PE - apparently they often chase people even when parking fines have been cancelled too... - i’ll start small claims proceedings for my time and inconvenience

I don't think you will get very much if you choose to do it that way. You'll get nowt for inconvenience, and not much for your time. It won't be worth it in my opinion.
The best way is to go for a GDPR breach where you don't have to prove any loss or inconvenience, just that they had no business getting your data from the DVLA. Those that have succeeded got around £500.

AmaniA

Okay, thanks. I’ve claimed for time and inconvenience before from bailiffs who were chasing an old occupier of a house I had just moved to, when they didn’t update their records and from an insurance company who lost info i’d sent them ��

Umkomaas

Great result :T

I've linked this in the 'Successful Complaints' thread as an excellent example of getting the retailer involved at an early stage.

AmaniA

Great stuff - thank you so much : ))