ALDI AND THE PARKING EYE: A CAUTIONARY TALE OF WOE.

This is a brief tale of my experience as an ALDI customer who had the misfortune to overstay the time limit in the company’s car park. In short I got an invoice masquerading as a "fine" of £70. This did not bring joy to my shopping experience at Aldi, and was almost as bad as the one and only checkout operator who whizzed my shopping through the scanner as if there was a world record time to be beaten.

I then made the mistake of trying to talk to these people and got only insults and belligerence. When I paid the fine invoice that’s where my real trouble began. After paying up in the interest of peace and quiet and having seen my number plate recognition camera image of my car, I found out that if you spend over £70 in the store they will ignore/refund the fine invoice. This only came to light after I declared that I would never shop in the store again.

"Were you actually in the store?" I was asked. Yes: that is why I was in the car park. I sent them evidence of this,  and they then ignored me for the next six or seven weeks, giving a variety of “It’s in the post/the cheque is waiting to be signed/our head office (the one with no phone number) is dealing with this/ the Director who signs the cheques is on holiday ... You get the picture. 

In desperation, I tried to talk to Aldi Head Office and eventually got to speak to a nice person get to a nice person who promised to help… but they got the same run around from Parking Eye as I did, and in the end they gave up and refunded my fine invoice and threw in a £10 voucher for all of my trouble. Aldi did suggest to me that they had little or no complaints about their car parking management or Parking Eye.

I suggested they Google Aldi/ Parking Eye and read some of the complaints about their arrangement and the grief it is causing customers all over the country. It seems to me Aldi have used a sledge hammer to crack a nut here, and a simple charging system or a barrier would prevent those who abuse their customer car parks.

Comments

[AngryMan]

Check this out:

http://www.angrybritainblog.blogspot.com

ParkingEyeFAIL!

[brian ward]

i am amazed at aldi parking policy you spend £34.00 and when you get home you get a paking ticket for £70.00 very nice they should shut there shops and go into the parking bussiness they dont seem to like there costomers thank god for tesco another customer lost at aldi would they get away with this in germany next i suppose the wheel clamps will be out i though hitler was dead watch out parking in aldi

[Susan Povah]

I parked at Aldi's where it stated 1 hour 30 minutes parking, BUT In Brackets ( No return within 4 hours ) I went shopping in centre as normal then shopped at Aldi's yet i recieved a fine from parking eye i have appealed they have returned letter stating pay up £70 pounds in next 7 days, so I have got all my reciepts together as I am a customer every other day and I am appealing against this please help what does ( NO return within 4 hours ) mean then.
the Parking eye has now changed all their signs since this occured please advise options and my rights. help help

[Susan Povah]

the Parking eye has also spelt My name wrong on the fine documents what would you do next, I have decided to fight this all the way as the amount of money I have generated in Adli's via my job and personal life they should give me shares in the company and stop fining legitamate shpppers, and put in place the same system as morrisons do and charge £1 then this is returned on shopping.

[Mosh]

I ignored letters and posted my experience and advice on my blog and on a consumer advice website. Today I received a legal "take down" order for the blog post. The consumer website has also been ordered to remove all mention of Parking Eye under "defamation" legislation.

That blog post is, until Monday, available from this link: http://j.mp/bdZzVH

It is, it seems, illegal to document exact happenings even if you don't offer an opinion. On the other hand, it could be Parking Eye getting annoyed that people are finding out that they don't need to pay the charges levied at them.

[VeraBay]

I have also just received a fine - Not only did I think it was two hours (which they have now reduced to 1 1/2 hours) but all the card machines were down - so queues and chaos within the store was amazing! Have appealed, but they seem to ignore that!!! I'll not be shopping at Aldi's again! I boycotted Tescos' almost a year ago and will happily carry on at Morrison's! Can you imagine this level of stupidity in France!!!

[Pauline Newnham]

I just got a parking fine from parking eye. I want to appeal as I overstayed for only 9 minutes and as it was pouring down with rain and I could barley seee the shop entrance never mind the sign that tells you about the parking time or the fact that they take photos. I have tried to phone these people, but I only seem to get an automated answer phone. My concern is that if I appeal and they say I have no grounds (why would anybody actually win with these people)then I will have to pay the full amount. I wanted to ask them about it. Does anybody know?

[joanne fraser]

i received a parking fine last week from parking eye after being just being 10 minutes over. This was due to shopping with a four year old who needed the toilet and a five month old who needed breast feeding during the trip. As there are no toilets and no facilities for mother and baby i had no choice but to take my four year old to the local park for the toilet and my five month old back to the car for a feed. It was half term at this particular time so as you can imagine the shop was busier and queing times longer. I have appealed against this fine but as it is a faceless company who dont want to talk to you i dont know what is happening.

[Joe Soap]

Read this carefully:

http://whatastate.org.uk/car-parking-penalties

And don't pay anything, write anything or say anything over the phone. They'll give up and go away...

[supra skytops]

[ this is good]

[remo forcellini]

I recieved a fine for 15" overstay which I paid over the phone for £40 through my debit card within the proscribde time. I now have recieved another demand for £70. I cannot contact anybody to very the reciept of my payment on the 12th November. What can I do?

[remo forcellini]

Further to my comment regarding the fine it seems that parking eye do not pass the first payment over their atomated telephone system. Mine was made on the 12th Novemeber 2010 but has still not appeared on my bank account. I will shortly recieve my monthly telephone bill which itemises all my calls including the one to parking eye so I will have proof that I did call them to pay through my debit card on the 12th. They had my details to take payment, but did not process it. I presume this was in order to increase my debt to £70. I am waiting to hear from the Aldi Management. I accept the charge of £40 but no more.

[Shiona Reynolds]

Same problem here. I am a carer for the elderly, as it was a pleasant day i decided to take one of my elderly couples out for a couple of hours, the chap is disabled and his wife also has mobility issues. We parked in Aldi's carpark, i parked in a disabled bay, put the disabled badge on display, got the wheelchair out first then assisted the couple out of my car, this probably took approx 10 minutes, we had every intention of shopping in Aldi but decided to go for a little wander first. We got back to the car, the elderly chap was cold and asked to sit in the car while me and his wife shopped in Aldi. We were 10 minutes over our time! I received a fine through the post and appealed straight away, the elderly couple wanted it paid so there wouldn't be any problems but i've refused and appealed twice and will continue. I thought if you had a blue badge that allows 3 hours, maybe i should check with the council.

[julie]

I have an invoice from Parking Eye, I didnt c the sign. I think I'm just gonna pay the forty as I have too many other proplems in my life to have a battle with them. They thrive on people like me!

[Julia Robinson]

Everybody please don't pay these fines. They sound like they are harassing people. I got a fine from them after I shopped in a store I slipped on their ungritted carpark when heavy snow was falling making me slightly over the time leaving the carpark - I also injured my leg doing so. I'm also happen to be a disabled person. I told the Parkingeye this and they just said 'my appeal has failed' pay up - also they want me to 'prove' I'm disabled - yeah right. They have two chances of getting money off me, 'fat' and 'no'.

[Amina Serugo]

Dear Sir/Madam
i Amina serugo have received a parking penalty charge no 280003/044499.
The purpose of this is to request your offices to wave off this charge as i did not know and am aregular custommer.
Thanks v much Yrs Amina SErugo 76 crispen rd tw 13 6qr.

[Peter]

We paid (yes feel like mugs now) but still getting threatening letters from ParkingEye.

Sent proof of payment. Asked for apology and retraction. NOTHING.

Have sent them invoice for my time, trouble, postage, etc. NOTHING.

Does anyone have Managing Directors name?

Can anyone give me advice on how to persue them for not paying my invoice?

[ASon of Cornwall]

Dont pay anything to this so called company, My Wife a got a PCN for being 11mins 23seconds over the apparent 1 hour limit the fact that she spent over £160.00 in the ALDI STORE amounts to nothing,,,that she stood in a que at the checkout for over 20 mins,, ans finally had to ask a member of staff if they could/would open more checkouts,,we have had the demand, and the final demand, and all the threats of extra charges etc, etc, and the threat of getting bad credit history, and a visit from a debt collection agency? well I welcome their arrival on my doorstep as it had better be with a court order and a Police Officer or two, before they get anything out of me,,and even then I'll fight it all they way,,,and further,,,Sod em!!

[Itsnojoke]

If you get a parking note from anyone other than the police or the council.

Do not pay, Do not pay, Do not pay, These 'fines' are not fines, they are invoices and as such are unenforceable.

Ignore them at all costs and never acknowledge them.

[Julia Robinson.]

Hello A bit of good news. I just want to say that I did complain to the CEO of Morrisons because Parking Eye began harrassing me by letter because of a slight overstay at Morrisons Solihull before Xmas. I complained to the CEO of Morrisons saying that I felt Parking Eye fell foul of a number of standards including treating me with disrespect as a disabled customer. The CEO of Morrisons was very helpful and genuine in his reply and wrote to Parking Eye to cancel the 'charge'. The CEO also intimated his is concerned about Parking Eye.
At the end of the day as many on this blog have pointed out, Parking Eye should not sending 'fines'. If you genuinely did not abuse the parking arrangements, just write to CEO of Aldi/Morrisons/ ect and tell them so and get them to put pressure on Parking Eye to stop abusing valued customers. Do not pay these 'fines' under any condition. Julia.

[Christine Jones]

If you get a 'fine' from parking eye, just ignore it, don't try to appeal or contact them.

They do not have any protection in law like a parking ticket from your local council or police which must be paid or appealed.

With private parking ticket companies like Parking Eye, the law of contract applies and the driver of the vehicle enters into a contract with the company and not the owner, however there is no legal obligation for the owner to admit they were driving or to give any details of who was driving on the day.

The letters might keep coming but they can't do anything. Yes they can start a civil action but that is unlikely because they are unlikely to win.
They can't send bailiffs round, only as a result of a civil action where you are found guilty but don't pay up within 28 days.

So basically don't contact them or appeal against, no contact at all, don't even acknowledge them

Christine

[Cindy Smith]

Google Parking Eye to see all the complaints and every piece of advice, from Watchdog to legal people all say DO NOT PAY and not bother to contact them to dispute.
How about we all contact Aldi instead, if they claim they have had no complaints about Parking Eye they will do nothing about it.
I shall be sending a letter to Aldi today with regard to my Christmas shopping. As an disabled person I cannot complete my monthly shops in that time period and keep getting invoices from them. I ignore them all, but as I have decided never to shop at Aldi again I will notify them of the harassment from Parking Eye.

[Chris Holmes]

I received a fine today from ParkingEye. I had bought a ticket for three hours parking and through a genuine delay was 14 mins late leaving the car park, although I also sat in the car and made a mobile phone call so was back at my vehicle in time. They now want me to pay a £50 fine. Surely this is extreme. My income is very low and I simply cannot pay so am terrified they can enforce this and worse still increase this to £120 if I do not pay. I am heartened by some comments on here that I do not have to pay but worried that this will not be the case. Chris

[kerry Wells]

I was flabbergasted when I recieved my fine, I took the kids Ice skating in Romford, I am a blue badge holder and there were no spaces available as non blue badges were parked in them (something that should be enforced)and the skating did not start till 8oclock at night! why would you need to pay parking at that time is beyond me! £80!!! well after reading the info above, I am binning it and rolling the dice!

[Chris Holmes]

I agree it is important that there is more consideration about keeping blue badge spaces available for those entitled to use them. Thank goodness for all the info on this site it has helped allay my fears and I now real;is that we just have to take the view of the lawyer on watchdog who made a paper plane out of one of these so called invoices. Stsy strong