Shoppers who popped into a newly opened Lidl store in Hampshire for their weekly shopping got more than they bargained for. Some were shocked to have received parking fines whilst they were in store buying products.
The new store located in Solartron Retail Park opened its doors on September 1, 2022. Its opening times are Monday to Saturday from 8am-10pm and Sundays from 10am-4pm, which are normal hours of operation for the budget supermarket.
However, despite customers shopping until late, the car park which is run by UK Parking Control (UKPC), only allows customers to stay until 9pm. As reported by HampshireLive, Farnborough resident Jason Railton was caught out by this and says the signage in place is unfair.
Speaking to HampshireLive, Jason said he was "frustrated and angry to come home and find a notice of a fine" after he parked outside the store on September 2 at 8.25pm and left at 9.43pm the same day. The letter he received stated this was "during the restricted no parking period".
Parking at the store is free for three hours up to a cut-off point of 9pm, but Jason has contested this over the fact that shoppers should be allowed to park there while the Lidl store is open. He highlighted that there is an "absolutely massive sign that says Lidl is open until 10pm so I didn't pay much attention to what signs are actually in the car park itself.
"You see that and you just assume, quite reasonably that you can park there." He added that to "park there when shops are open and receive a fine is clearly something where someone's messed up sorting the parking out with Lidl".
Jason returned to the retail park on Tuesday, September 13, to see if he had missed clear signs highlighting the parking restrictions. However, he found that upon entrance to the car park the initial signage from UKPC is obscured to motorists by the gate.
Jason commented: "When you get near the car park there's one sign at the entrance at a low level from the parking company and all it says is 'for customers only - see the notices in the car park'. There's no notice of time when you come in and you can barely read it because it's behind the gate post."
This is in stark contrast to the giant Lidl store signs which proudly display that the shop is open until 10pm, which many customers have taken to assume means they can park for free whilst shopping until this time. There is a UKPC sign within the car park that highlights the restriction, but customers view this as inadequate.
Jason told HampshireLive: "I'm six foot ten and it's another foot above my head and in small writing - there is a little bit that says no parking between 9pm and 7am. That's the only notice that shows there's a discrepancy between the parking signs and the Lidl opening times - one tiny little bit of writing".
When Jason tried to contact Lidl customer service he was told he would have to contest the fine with the parking company. Both HampshireLive and Jason tried to contact UKPC but were unable to get a reply.
However, when Jason returned to Lidl in Farnborough on Tuesday and spoke with the manager he did receive an apology. The manager also took a copy of the charge notice and assured Jason it would be cancelled.
HampshireLive contacted Lidl for comment as to why the parking limit has been set earlier than the store closing time and if it had any plans to raise this with UK Parking Control Ltd in order to assist their customers. In response a spokesperson stated: "We were extremely sorry to learn of this matter.
"As soon as our teams were made aware it was immediately escalated to UK Parking who have confirmed to us that the timings have now been updated and all fines issued to Lidl customers have been cancelled."
Jason was told by Farnborough's site manager that he has not been the only one affected, a statement that is backed up by complaints on Farnborough community groups on Facebook. The site manager further stated that they had raised the issue with the landlord and parking company and the parking times had been extended.
As of September 13, the signs in the car park still say only until 9pm in contrast to the larger signs promoting the store closing time of 10pm. UKPC has been contacted by HampshireLive for comment.
