I guess we all know somebody that has been on the receiving end of a fine from the likes of Asda/Tesco/B&Q etc for 'overstaying' your welcome'? Well, from speaking to my mate in Trading Standards, he advises you refuse to pay the fine It depends on your circumstances of course but he suggests you take a look at THIS SITE to help you decide.

It is also worth mentioning that any charge for overstaying in a car park on private land should relate to some damage or loss to the landowner. For example - if the car park wasn’t full (i.e. you weren’t stopping someone else from spending money in the shop), then there has been no loss to the landowner. The shop or Parking Eye would have to prove how you cost them money.

I am currently 'refusing to pay a fine' that was sent to me by Tesco when I overstayed their 3 hour parking limit. What annoys me is the fact I was shopping there exclusively and had not 'popped up the high street' on the off chance. Anyway, just thought you would like to know.

Al

Thing is, if you know you'll be there over their limit (or even if you realise during your trip) you can go to the Customer Service desk of your supermarket, explain the situation and give them your reg number then they won't fine you. We had a breakdown in Tesco and had to leave our car there for a while, we let the Customer Service guys know and it was no problem.

Over three hours in Tesco?

That alone scares me. 30 minutes is too long!

Mind you, I don't have to contend with dragging family members along.

If I shop on my own, 30 mins is more than enough. I tend to go at quieter times and I know what I need on a weekly basis. It doesn't change much.

This wouldn't help much http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/8487529.stm

I don't think you have a leg to stand on - you know the limit and you agreed to it when you parked.

Of course short of a civil court case Tesco can't compel you to pay (short of clamping your car), but you may well find yourself being banned from the store.

If they have signs up then you are probably entering into a contract or something.

yeah dodgy area really, i mean when i used to work for several major retailers they had issues with people using the car-park to store SORN vehicles. we would just issue a removal notice on the car and then scrap em after 28 days

I can't imagine spending 3 hours in a supermarket, but I guess if you're with a "woman"...

Our local Sainsbury's only allows 90 minutes. Although I can usually complete a shop in less than 30 minutes, there have been times I may have gone over the limit due to Christmas congestion and protracted indecisiveness. They've never issued me a ticket yet, but if they did I'd be mighty hurt that they'd penalise a loyal shopper for shopping too much.

I'd probably take the ticket to the customer services desk and explain that my wife had been so busy spending all our money with them that we'd lost track of time. If they didn't do anything about it, I'd make it quite clear that I'd never shop there again and hand them my loyalty card to cut in half. I'd follow that up with an email headed "complaint", because such emails are usually taken surprisingly seriously.

I'll be interested how your story develops, so let us know!

I'm currently very annoyed because I managed to get a ticket myself today. £120 for being 8 minutes overdue on a 5 hour P&D. I know it's my own fault, but FFS that's seriously disproportionate. I'm now wishing I hadn't just spent my savings on the media centre, which cost about the same as those 8 minutes

If they looked at your loyalty card they may work out that you don't have a wife.




That sounds mighty unfair. What was so special at that car park?

I've never seen a supermarket over here that charged at all for parking, and some of them are quite large

My local M&S and Waitrose you have to pay for parking, Waitrose don't own their car park, the council does (next to a big sports facility), M&S own theirs, but you can be refunded if you spend over £10 in store or something like that.

So I go to Tescos/Aldi, where it's free.

The question must be asked: Is Al normal?

They don't normally charge - but they do have a limit on the time you can be in their car park.