Lidl - Parking Eye Ticket for Valid Customer - Appeal Help Please

PrincessFrog20

I have consulted the POPLA comments section of the forum, thank you for the help there and I now need some more specific advice about a parking charge issued by Parking Eye at a Lidl store car park.

A parking charge has been issued for a vehicle parked during a legitimate visit to the store. Whilst in the store, over £250 was spent on a large grocery shop which took a considerable amount of time. Upon payment, the store's card machine did not accept a GPay tap to pay device. This was the only method of payment available and there was a full trolley of packed shopping to check out. The vehicle owner then had to call their partner to come to the store with a physical debit card to make payment. Due to this inconvenience, the entirety of this visit took just over 2 hours. (apologies for the back-story!)

A parking charge was sent to the vehicle owner from Parking Eye with ANPR photos of the car entering and leaving the car park after 2 hours and 4 minutes. The parking charge states that the maximum stay in the car park is 1 hour 30 minutes. Throughout the time that the vehicle was parked in the car park the driver was a customer in the store.

Lidl has been contacted via email (customer service and CEO) with all receipts, proof of payment and challenges with the GPay system in store but offered no help and merely advised to appeal to Parking Eye.

Please could I have some advice as to whether the appeal for this parking charge is likely to be successful in light of proof of purchase as a customer in the store? Thank you for any help.

Fruitcake

Try the store manager rather than customer services.

Nobody can tell you if an appeal will win, but start with the appeal template in blue text you will find in the sticky Announcement for NEWBIES, but not until the complaints route has been exhausted. Make sure the keeper doesn't miss the 28 day appeal deadline though.
Check if the NTK was a "golden ticket" and incapable of holding the keeper liable. If it is, add a one liner to that effect to the template appeal.

If/when it is rejected, then appeal to PoPLA using all the points available to you from the third post of the NEWBIES, plus "frustration of contract".

You need to find somewhere else to shop in future. Somewhere that isn't infested by a PPC. Either that or switch to home deliveries if possible.
If that isn't practical, leave before your 90 minutes is up, even if you haven't finished shopping, making sure the staff no why.

It is known that some PPCs will unilaterally reduce the permitted parking time from that originally stated when planning permission for the site was granted. If you feel inclined you could check with the local planning department to see if this has happened, as well as asking if planning permission for pole mounted ANPR scameras has been obtained, and advertising consent has been granted for the signs.

You should also complain to your MP.

Trainerman

I suspect that the reply from Lidl merely came from customer dis-service and they need to think again. Plan A is always best anyway, but in your situation I would be furious and sending emails to the CEO and every board member I could find telling them how bad it is that a genuine customer has been penalised. I would say that if they want me take my custom to (insert name of nearest rival) they only have to say so and I will take my custom there......and as many family as I can contact.......and as many friends as I can contact.

Otherwise cancel the damn ticket. The PPC works for you Mr Lidl, not the other way around !!!

But then, it has been said that I am an argumentative s*d

Coupon-mad

With Lidl cases, appeal to ParkingEye with a copy of the receipt. They WILL cancel.  

Reading between the lines of Lidl cases seen, I think their contract gives Lidl zero right to intervene and cancel any PCNs, BUT it seems to require PE to cancel for genuine patrons.

Hence: appeal.

D_P_Dance

PE's signs are pants.  Read this and complan to your MP.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5972164/parking-eye-signs-oxford-road-reading/p1

PrincessFrog20

Thank you very much for all of your helpful comments. The guidance is incredibly valuable.

 

Email was sent to CEO but reply came back to the same tune through customer service that contact would have to be made with Parking Eye since Lidl had no part in parking charges levelled and this was all done by an independent party.

 

Today, made a visit to the store to appeal to the good will of the manager to help cancel the ticket. Store manager was polite and advised that the letter plus receipt proof of purchase from the store and proof of challenges with GPay could be left with him and he would submit but caveated that he would be entering the same appeal process through PE as VO.

 

In light of this, concern was that any paperwork left with Lidl store manager would be looked after and followed up correctly? Also, would the appeal from the store manager have any greater impact than from VO?

Thank you again for any advice gratefully received.

KeithP

Who or what is 'VO'?

Coupon-mad

You don't need to do any of that. As I said, ParkingEye will cancel it, so don't hand over the PCN or trust someone else to do the appeal.

This is easy to kill off.

PrincessFrog20

KeithP said:

Who or what is 'VO'?

Apologies, I should have indicated 'driver' instead. Thank you.

PrincessFrog20

Coupon-mad said:

You don't need to do any of that. As I said, ParkingEye will cancel it, so don't hand over the PCN or trust someone else to do the appeal.

This is easy to kill off.

Thank you very much. This is really helpful and clear. Could I also please check whether it's more advisable to appeal with the whole backstory (below and in OP) or simply with the purchase receipt indicating that a purchase was legitimately made? 

"A parking charge has been issued for a vehicle parked during a legitimate visit to the store. Whilst in the store, over £250 was spent on a large grocery shop which took a considerable amount of time. Upon payment, the store's card machine did not accept a GPay tap to pay device. This was the only method of payment available and there was a full trolley of packed shopping to check out. The vehicle owner then had to call their partner to come to the store with a physical debit card to make payment. Due to this inconvenience, the entirety of this visit took just over 2 hours. (apologies for the back-story!)"

I appreciate that PE are not known to be empathetic as a company but I wanted to be sure whether the whole situation was important to lay out to them or the fact that a significant purchase was made in store would be enough?

With thanks, as always.

Coupon-mad

That backstory is perfect. They will cancel if you also attach the receipt.

Horrible and disproportionate to get threatened by £100 parking charge, isn't it?  Make sure your voice is heard about it this Summer.  Don't disappear from the forum please. Come back regularly this Summer to check when the final Govt Public Consultation opens, discussed here:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6345732/secure-parking-solutions-ntk/p6

Basically, the Govt published a Code that included banning false debt recovery fee extortion and capping parking charges for many instances (such as shopping overstays) at £50 - discounted to £25.

The industry threw a hissy fit and threw money at it and we believe ParkingEye are behind one of the Judicial Reviews that blocked the new Code last month. The industry want to bully through £100 or more, so it becomes part of the new law!

Get your revenge and PLEASE stick around so you know when the final Consultation opens.  I am sure you have an opinion about ridiculously inflated and greedy parking charge threats.