A disabled pensioner was hit with a £100 parking fine in Swansea after taking too long to do her shopping at Morrisons.
Eighty-year-old Ann Tawe-Jones drove into Morfa Shopping Park on January 19 and then popped into the nearby supermarket. Two hours and six minutes later, she returned to her vehicle to discover a ticket had been slapped on her car as she had exceeded the 90-minute limit, reports Wales Online.
Ann has mobility issues and has to get by using a walking stick, so it takes her longer than most to get round the aisles. She also enjoys the company of fellow shoppers, but was shocked to then see she’d been penalised for ‘overstaying her welcome’ after heading back to her motor.
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It was only when she went to complain about the ticket at the store’s customer services desk that she was informed of the 90-minute rule. And she’d also received two earlier fines from Euro Car Parks, which manages the Morfa and Neath Morrisons car parks.
“Imagine, I’m disabled, 80 years of age,” she said. “I get my food and things like milk might have run out and I’ll have to get somebody to go outside and get more.
“When I’m in the shop, I have to lean on the trolley, because I’m in so much pain.”
She added she was planning on finding an alternative solution to help her move around the supermarket faster, but said she found the mobility scooters provided hard to manoeuvre and get in and out of to reach for the items she needed.
She also said her family were all very supportive, but her son lived across the border in England and she could be quite lonely living by herself. The warmth of chatting to others at the supermarket and being around people was important.
On how she felt after receiving the fine, she said: “I’m very upset because I live on my own and I’m 80. It’s a lonely life and I need the politeness and respect of people without them being rude to me.
“When you’re shopping and spending a lot of money in the shop you want some courtesy.”
A spokesperson for Morrisons said: “All of our car parks have signage that clearly highlight the allotted time allowed for customers to park. We appreciate Mrs Jones’s situation and we have been in touch with her directly to resolve the situation.”
Euro Car Parks had not yet responded to a request for comment.
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