Athena Parking fine from Lidl car park

hardy1975 · 15 December 2017 at 11:25AM

Hi All,
I'm new to the forum.

I have read the numerous threads including the Newbie thread and to be honest i'm now a little confused and unsure of the best way to proceed. If I could go through my situation, any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

Yesterday I received what seems to be the standard Athena letter which has the £90 charge but £45 if paid within 14 days.

The carwas in that car park for too long, i've never noticed the signs before and didn't realise that free parking was for 1.5 hrs. The store was really busy that day. The photos and times show that the car was in the car park for 18 mins 22 seconds too long. However we do have a receipt from the store which is timed 6 minutes prior to leaving the car park.

On the threads it says appeal to the parking company and complain to the store, but also not to state who was driving.
In my appeal to the parking company, if we attach a copy of the receipt, am I right in thinking that this would confirm who was driving and therefore be the wrong way to proceed.

I spoke to Lidl customer services yesterday and they advised me to appeal to Athena directly and that they could do nothing.

I'm a bit of a stresshead when it comes to things like this and i'm tempted to payup, but at the same time annoyed that we were actually in the store and have proof, however the other threads seem to confirm that appeals always get turned down.

If anyone could help it would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Quentin · 15 December 2017 at 11:30AM

The Newbies FAQ thread advises throughout never to reveal who was driving yet your post does reveal.

You need to edit your post to remove details of who was driving and your name.

Also if your forum name is your real name then ask MSE to change it to something anonymous.

The ppcs monitor this forum and can use your posts against you

You are correct that any appeal to IPC companies is futile.

Just send the template appeal as is then ignore everything except court correspondence or a letter before court action.

Come back at that time should it come for advice on how to deal with this

The_Deep · 15 December 2017 at 11:34AM

Have you written bad stuff on their Facebook paqe? They hate that.

MikeHammer · 15 December 2017 at 11:40AM

I've only been on this forum a few weeks but have read lots of similar cases to yours.. the general advice is:

Spend some time equipping yourself with knowledge so you're not just looking for someone else's template but instead understand the situation in which you find yourself and can fight it accordingly. The best place to start is by reading the Newbies thread thoroughly, including any threads linked from within it.
Speak to the Store Manager (in person if possible), explain (with evidence - bank statements, receipts, etc. - if possible) you use the store regularly, was planning on doing all your Xmas/new year food shopping there and so on.
Appeal to the Parking Company (expect this to be rejected) - using template text provided in newbies thread.
Whilst you await the inevitable rejection from the Parking Company, begin writing your appeal to POPLA or equivalent (depends on parking company) using information from the Newbies thread and the multitude of similar cases you'll find via a search. In your case "Grace Periods" will be a key factor.

There is an entire thread somewhere (think it's linked from the Newbies thread) that lists cases where companies such as Lidl have intervened and had PCN's cancelled on behalf of their customers. The thread links to the individual cases so you can see the approach taken and decide what the best course of action is for you.

Umkomaas · 15 December 2017 at 11:44AM

You write (by email) to the MD, Christian Haertnagel (note spelling), as per examples all over the forum. Send him copies of your receipt, and any other back copies of receipts/bank/cc statements showing regular Lidl patronage.

Do a forum search on ‘Haertnagel Lidl’ (click ‘Show Posts’, not the default ‘Show Threads’j and check very recent threads all of which will have had positive outcomes.

Make sure you write to the MD, not Customer Services.

hardy1975 · 15 December 2017 at 11:51AM

thanks so much.

So, the advice at this point is email the MD with proof and send the appeal template to Athena?

Thanks

Umkomaas · 15 December 2017 at 11:58AM

hardy1975 wrote: »

thanks so much.

So, the advice at this point is email the MD with proof and send the appeal template to Athena?

Thanks

Personally I’d not bother with Athena at this stage. They will always reject - no money in accepting appeals.

You don’t want a situation, should the MD (through his staff) contact Athena and find they’ve rejected, causing him to have second thoughts.

Come back to report your cancellation please!

Quentin · 15 December 2017 at 11:59AM

hardy1975 wrote: »

thanks so much.

So, the advice at this point is email the MD with proof and send the appeal template to Athena?

Thanks

Well...the advice is to get acquainted with the game you are involved in by studying the newbies faq thread!

Once you fully understand, then take the action set out there.

No need to seek confirmation at each stage!

hardy1975 · 19 December 2017 at 12:54PM

Followed advice on forum, emailed the CEO of Lidl.

Pleased to say I have received an email from Lidl this morning confirming that they have contacted Athena and requested the charge to be cancelled.

Thanks alot for all of you help!!

Umkomaas · 19 December 2017 at 1:02PM

Well done. The advice works. I can’t recall a case where the MD (Christian Haertnagel or his predecessor Ronny Gottschlich) has refused a parking charge complaint

hardy1975 · 19 December 2017 at 1:12PM

first time i have used the forum mate, over the moon with the advice and guidance received!! cheers

Athena Parking fine from Lidl car park

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free