A Bristol shopper was outraged when he received a £100 parking fine for visiting Imperial Retail Park twice in two hours. He joins others who have complained about the ‘two visit’ fine, although the retail park in South Bristol has confirmed these fines can be appealed.
The car park is managed by Parkingeye and the parking charge notice states: “There is a no return policy which is clearly displayed on the signage, advising a vehicle may not return within 2 hours 0 minutes of departing the car park.” It further states that the signage is clearly displayed at the entrance and throughout the car park.
“By either not purchasing the appropriate parking time or by remaining in the car park longer than permitted or returning to the car park within the No Return Period, in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the signage, the Parking Charge is now payable to Parking Eye.”
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The shopper, who wanted only to be identified as Mark, said he was frustrated by the fine for going back to the retail park twice to spend his “hard earned money”, but was relieved when he contacted the retail park which confirmed they would cancel the fine.
When contacted, Imperial Retail Park said that the car park had come under new management which had seen the rule being enforced. But, he said, affected motorists can request fines to be cancelled.
The rules displayed at the car park state that motorists can only stay for a period of four hours with “no return within two hours”. Another shopper spoke to Bristol World claiming “she and dozens of other motorists have been issued with fines at Imperial Retail Park in Hartcliffe".
The shopper said she had re-entered the car park after leaving ten minutes previously and described the rule as “absolutely ridiculous”, adding that she had often parked at the centre and returned within two hours after forgetting to buy something. Her fine was also cancelled.
On Wednesday (March 17), a Parkingeye spokesperson said: “The car park at Imperial Retail Park features prominent and highly-visible signs providing information on how to use the car park responsibly. The guidance has been in place since 2019 and advises customers of the retail park that they are entitled to a four-hour maximum stay with no return within two hours.
“The rules are in place to prevent long-stay parking abuse and ensure that spaces are available for customers visiting the retail park. We would add that Parkingeye operates a BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their Parking Charge. If anyone has mitigating circumstances, we would encourage them to highlight this by appealing.”
Requests to cancel a fine and a screenshot of the parking fine can be emailed to: enquiries@imperialretailpark.com
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