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Lidl Athena success
mrsluigi6
Posts: 8 Forumite
Posting here in case this helps anyone else.
Up until now I shopped regularly in Lidl. My local Lidl has a carpark which serves Lidl Pound stretcher and Burger King with the usual 90 minute rule although there are no obvious cameras. Three times over the last 12 months I have received PCN tickets in the post for being up to 20 minutes over the 90 minutes. On each occasion I have emailed an appeal to Athena with a copy of my shopping receipts and the charge has been cancelled. On 27th July I got a PCN in the post dated the previous week. On that particular day I had spent £28 in Pound stretcher and £143 in Lidl. I sent off my appeal via email as previously then the following day we went away for 2 weeks. Last Saturday I came home to a letter through the post rejecting my appeal and saying there would be no further discussion but I had a right to appeal to the IAS. I rang Lidl customer service who were very unhelpful. They said there was nothing they could do parking spaces were kept for customers (I had just told them I was a regular customer and how much I had spent!) He then asked if I was shopping for anyone disabled (what that had to do with it I don't know I had just told him we are a household of 11 and that is why it takes so long!) He said I could apply for a blue badge and then I would get 30 minutes extra. I said I wasn't going to get a blue badge just so I could park longer to do my shopping. I then followed this up with a complaint on their Facebook page. The following day I got a reply asking for my details. In the meantime I did an appeal to the IAS. This morning I received a reply from Lidl customer services regarding my Facebook post along the same lines that spaces were kept for customers and there was nothing they could do. After a quick browse of the forum I sent the following email to the CEO
Dear Mr Haertnagel
I have been a loyal Lidl customer for the past 2 years since switching from shopping at Tesco. I regularly spend £100 or more on groceries for my household of 11 on a weekly basis. As you can imagine this is very time consuming and cannot always be done within a 90 minute window especially as I suffer from a bad back and nerve pain in my leg. On 20th July I visited the Lidl Peckham store and spent £143. I actually spent more than that as I forgot an item and had to go back inside and queue for a further 10 minutes to pay. On 27th July I received a PCN from Athena whom Lidl employ for over staying in the car park by 20 minutes. Your customer service department have been extremely unhelpful in dealing with this saying amongst other things that parking is reserved for customers which I have just shown that I am and at the time there were plenty of car parking spaces and also advising me that if I had a disability I could apply for a blue badge in order to park for longer! I am sure that this is not the manner with which Lidl wishes to treat it's loyal customers so I respectfully ask that you have this unreasonable charge cancelled as I would hate to have to shop elsewhere.
Your Sincerely
Within a couple of hours I received the following reply
Re: Parking Charge
Thank you for contacting our C.E.O. It has been requested, that I respond on his behalf.
As you are probably aware, Lidl UK GmbH is a national retailer. As such, we have stores in locations with limited parking space and in common with many of our competitors, our store car parks are abused to a significant and detrimental extent. We have therefore judged it necessary to take measures so that our stores parking facilities are available first and foremost to our customers.
In order to ensure that sufficient parking spaces are available at all times to our customers, Lidl employs third party contractors to monitor and control our car parks. So far, this service has proved reliable and effective in reducing car park abuse and in freeing up spaces for our customers.
In light of your comments, on this one occasion, I have contacted the Car Park Management Company and have requested that this charge be cancelled. Please note, your comments regarding our parking restrictions have been noted and passed to the relevant department.
Thank you again for contacting us.
Yours sincerely,
For and on behalf of Lidl UK GmbH
Up until now I shopped regularly in Lidl. My local Lidl has a carpark which serves Lidl Pound stretcher and Burger King with the usual 90 minute rule although there are no obvious cameras. Three times over the last 12 months I have received PCN tickets in the post for being up to 20 minutes over the 90 minutes. On each occasion I have emailed an appeal to Athena with a copy of my shopping receipts and the charge has been cancelled. On 27th July I got a PCN in the post dated the previous week. On that particular day I had spent £28 in Pound stretcher and £143 in Lidl. I sent off my appeal via email as previously then the following day we went away for 2 weeks. Last Saturday I came home to a letter through the post rejecting my appeal and saying there would be no further discussion but I had a right to appeal to the IAS. I rang Lidl customer service who were very unhelpful. They said there was nothing they could do parking spaces were kept for customers (I had just told them I was a regular customer and how much I had spent!) He then asked if I was shopping for anyone disabled (what that had to do with it I don't know I had just told him we are a household of 11 and that is why it takes so long!) He said I could apply for a blue badge and then I would get 30 minutes extra. I said I wasn't going to get a blue badge just so I could park longer to do my shopping. I then followed this up with a complaint on their Facebook page. The following day I got a reply asking for my details. In the meantime I did an appeal to the IAS. This morning I received a reply from Lidl customer services regarding my Facebook post along the same lines that spaces were kept for customers and there was nothing they could do. After a quick browse of the forum I sent the following email to the CEO
Dear Mr Haertnagel
I have been a loyal Lidl customer for the past 2 years since switching from shopping at Tesco. I regularly spend £100 or more on groceries for my household of 11 on a weekly basis. As you can imagine this is very time consuming and cannot always be done within a 90 minute window especially as I suffer from a bad back and nerve pain in my leg. On 20th July I visited the Lidl Peckham store and spent £143. I actually spent more than that as I forgot an item and had to go back inside and queue for a further 10 minutes to pay. On 27th July I received a PCN from Athena whom Lidl employ for over staying in the car park by 20 minutes. Your customer service department have been extremely unhelpful in dealing with this saying amongst other things that parking is reserved for customers which I have just shown that I am and at the time there were plenty of car parking spaces and also advising me that if I had a disability I could apply for a blue badge in order to park for longer! I am sure that this is not the manner with which Lidl wishes to treat it's loyal customers so I respectfully ask that you have this unreasonable charge cancelled as I would hate to have to shop elsewhere.
Your Sincerely
Within a couple of hours I received the following reply
Re: Parking Charge
Thank you for contacting our C.E.O. It has been requested, that I respond on his behalf.
As you are probably aware, Lidl UK GmbH is a national retailer. As such, we have stores in locations with limited parking space and in common with many of our competitors, our store car parks are abused to a significant and detrimental extent. We have therefore judged it necessary to take measures so that our stores parking facilities are available first and foremost to our customers.
In order to ensure that sufficient parking spaces are available at all times to our customers, Lidl employs third party contractors to monitor and control our car parks. So far, this service has proved reliable and effective in reducing car park abuse and in freeing up spaces for our customers.
In light of your comments, on this one occasion, I have contacted the Car Park Management Company and have requested that this charge be cancelled. Please note, your comments regarding our parking restrictions have been noted and passed to the relevant department.
Thank you again for contacting us.
Yours sincerely,
For and on behalf of Lidl UK GmbH
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Comments
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Because if you were with a disabled person they are legally allowed more time, under the Equality Act, to go about 'daily life' things like shopping/parking time.He then asked if I was shopping for anyone disabled (what that had to do with it I don't know)
I'd say, with or without a Blue Badge (which you probably don't qualify for) you are allowed more time if your condition is continuing, affects your mobility and is likely to last 12 months or more, or repeat/remit over a period that long. Nerve damage might well fit that (legal, Equality Act) description, so might a continuous bad back condition.
Well done for complaining to Mr Haertnagel, which always works! :TPRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
CLICK at the top of this/any page where it says:
Forum Home»Motoring»Parking Tickets Fines & Parking - read the NEWBIES THREAD0 -
Thank you and a massive thank you to everyone for all the great advice on this forum
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I used Lidl in West Wickham, Kent, on 30th July while I was down in that area. I received an Athena PCN for £90 a few days later saying I had overstayed the 10 min parking restriction for non-shoppers as I had not scanned a receipt at one of the 'dedicated terminals'. I was in the shop for an hour. I called Lidl Customer Service to cancel the charge but they told me I had to appeal to Athena and send the receipt. I did this and the charge was cancelled within a few days by Athena.
I live in March, Cambs and went to the local Lidl on 8th August. It was very busy in the shop and, as usual, only one till was open. An announcement was made to open a second till so I moved to this. However, no one appeared for some time and when he did, he said the till would not be opening. Then without even opening, another announcement was made that the till would be closing. What a joke! This is a common practice with Lidl and Aldi who are both guilty of the ‘swopping till syndrome’, ie tills frequently opening and then closing within a few minutes, even when the shop is packed. I don't know what the purpose of this is.
I then had to rejoin the only open till and when I got to the cashier, I asked what to do if I got a PCN for over-staying the 90 mins. He merely shrugged and unhelpfully said it had nothing to do with Lidl and I should take it up with the parking company. Great attitude to loyal customers. It is quite easy to park in March. There is a free car park in the town centre and free roadside parking. The train station is nearly a mile away, so it has nothing to do with commuters as all the surrounding roads are free parking. Why there are time restrictions on the car park is beyond me and feels like they're trying to rip off their customers. As much as I like Lidl, it is really not worth incurring a £90 fine every time I go shopping.
NOTE: At other supermarkets, you can ask the Help Desk to extend your stay if you think you will go over the time, or negate the charge before you leave the shop if you have stayed longer than allowed. I found this out some time ago and have used it, and it works. Morrisons are very helpful. Aldi Customer Services will cancel with Parking Eye on your behalf and are extremely helpful with proof of receipts.
My other complaint with Lidl is with regard to pricing. Several times there is one price on the shelf and another price when you get to the till, usually higher. I had three items on the last shop which cost more at the till. If I notice the discrepancy before leaving the shop, I query it/remove the item. However, this is not always possible when you are trying to exit in a hurry. Other shops have been fined for this practice.
I have been trying to send an email about the above to Lidl but so far have been unsuccessful. I have said that 90 mins is not enough time to grocery shop, check the weekly special offers AND queue for ages because of a lack of open tills, as well as load up the car with a trolley full of stuff.0 -
BriteSpark, did you read any of the other posts on this thread?
If so you will have seen just how easy it is to get Lidl to cancel car parking charges.0 -
Only the ones above which show them as being unhelpful, which was my experience. I was really trying to write to Lidl and came across some complaints forums, mostly saying the same thing. Anyway, all this happened before I saw the forums today.0
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That Lidl reply has been seen here before, it's just
a copy and paste.
The Lidl customer service is as useless as Network Rail
Lidl don't seem to realise the damage they create
for themselves by employing Athena or any other
scammer
T
Talk about holding customers in contempt with
no respect ...... That's Lidl for you0 -
On this forum, Lidl cancel every complaint raised via the CEO, Christian Haertnagel. Just need to press the right button. Rant not necessary.Please note, we are not a legal advice forum. I personally don't get involved in critiquing court case Defences/Witness Statements, so unable to help on that front. Please don't ask. .
I provide only my personal opinion, it is not a legal opinion, it is simply a personal one. I am not a lawyer.
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.Private Parking Firms - Killing the High Street0 -
BriteSpark wrote: »
I have been trying to send an email about the above to Lidl but so far have been unsuccessful. I have said that 90 mins is not enough time to grocery shop, check the weekly special offers AND queue for ages because of a lack of open tills, as well as load up the car with a trolley full of stuff.
Just email the ceo like I did I had a reply in a matter of hours cancelling it0 -
Incase helps just had our Lidl one cancelled.
emailed Christian.haertnagel@lidl.co.uk and it was cancelled. we had shopped and I attached bank statement. Good luck to others.0 -
saverclaire wrote: »Incase helps just had our Lidl one cancelled.
emailed Christian.haertnagel@lidl.co.uk and it was cancelled. we had shopped and I attached bank statement. Good luck to others.
Good News
Mr Haertnagel should employ a market research company
to establish how many customers he loses because of
the parking vermin0
This discussion has been closed.
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