A woman says she will 'never go back to Tesco' after she claims the supermarket chain fined her £35 when she visited twice in one day. The woman has called the ordeal 'frightening', and says she does not want to 'risk' shopping at Tesco again.
Emily Smith, a 47-year-old, says she was made to feel like a 'criminal' when she contested the fine. Emily has now vowed ‘never to go back’.
The woman says she thought that after dropping by for groceries in the morning there was no harm in popping back to the shop that evening to fill up on fuel. However, she says days later she received a parking fine in the post – accusing her vehicle of being in the car park of the Tesco Extra in Whitfield, Dover, for 10 hours.
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Emily, a charity manager, said: “We are being treated like criminals, there is no innocent until proven guilty. We have now found some proof because we use a tracking app with my eldest. It’s bonkers, and trying to prove where we were is quite hard.”
Emily said that despite leaving the shop before returning later in the day, the ANPR cameras in use on the site must have failed to pick up their car leaving the car park. The £35 charge doubles if not settled within 28 days, and the mum says the fears others could be frightened into paying the charge. She says she was even threatened with further enforcement action if she didn’t pay up to the enforcement company.
Now, Emily says she will be giving her custom to Lidl in the future after voicing her disappointment at Tesco for how they handled the situation. “I am deeply disappointed in Tesco - I am not going to risk being their customer again,” said Emily.
“I’m worried that this is going to happen to other people who may just pay the charge because it is really quite frightening. When my husband called Tesco, he was told ‘our cameras do not lie’ - we were basically accused of lying.
“We had to give our time and energy to get this resolved when we did not do anything wrong. I think it is a money-making tool for Tesco and the parking company. Because you are told the fine is less if you pay within 28 days, most people will pay it because they don’t want the hassle.
“People need to know they have the choice to shop somewhere that will not fine them if they visit more than once in a day.”
A spokesperson for Tesco said: !We are sorry to hear about this and have ensured the charge is cancelled."
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