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£170 Tesco shopper’s parking rap

11:20am Wednesday 28th November 2007

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By Gordon McCully »

A SHOPPER who spent £170 at a Tesco store received a warning letter a few days later for staying on the car park too long'.

Supply teacher Virginia Kay, 30, said she parked at the Tesco Extra store, Foxhole Road, Chorley, and shopped for a range of items, including Christmas presents and food.

The Burnley-born married mother-of-one, who was off work at the time suffering from stress as a result of a miscarriage, returned to her car and drove home to Clayton-le-Woods.

But just days later she received a letter saying she had overstayed her welcome by parking in the car park for longer than the permitted three hours.

Not only was she angry after spending so much cash in the store, but also because her vehicle details had been passed to Tesco from the DVLA.

A spokesman for Tescos said they were "sorry" that Mrs Kay did not think "three hours" was enough and that the parking time limit had been arrived at as a result of research.

But Mrs Kay said: "The car park was half empty. I didn't park on a disabled bay.

"I went in and used the cafe, looked at books and magazines and did some Christmas present and Christmas food shopping.

"I bought some cards and tried on some clothes. I bought a book and read the blurb at the back and queued for a lottery ticket.

"I had to use my phone in the car park before I left to discuss who was going to pick up my five-year-old daughter from the childminder. That took me over the three hours."

Mrs Kay said she was "amazed" when she received a letter stating her vehicle registration number saying she had exceeded the three-hour limit an if she did it again she would get a fine.

She said: "I understand they have got to control their car park, but I think this alienates customers.

"I just feel really angry, I couldn't believe it.

"I thought it was really shocking how they got my address from the DVLA. I only saw the parking notice on the way out."

A spokesman for Tesco said: "There are signs in the car park advising of the time limit which is the same for most stores.

"We're sorry that she finds three hours insufficient. We came to this conclusion based on research. It's standard for a reminder letter to be sent out as we're not keen on fines. Our relationship with the DVLA is the same as other retailers."

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Your Say Your Citizen

James Reeve, Manchester says...
11:31pm Fri 28 Dec 07

Quite right. Tesco cannot "fine" you. Only the police or local authority can issue fines. Tesco and other private landowners can issue a charge, which is not a fine, and it is not a crime to refuse to pay. It would be a civil case, and Tesco would have to take you to a civil court and prove that you were depriving them of the "enjoyment" of or profit from the land you were occupying. If there were other spaces free, it is very unlikely that they would win, and they're not likely to go to all that trouble anyway. The same applies to parking "charges" issued by private companies that administer car parks (even if the car park belongs to the local authority). You're not committing a criminal offence by not paying, and you're perfectly entitled to demand that they prove their case. You don't have to prove anything. A lot of people panic and cough up, but if these companies have to go to a lot of trouble, they often give up.
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Alan Davies, City of Worcester says...
10:32am Sat 15 Dec 07

Does the DLVA send 'our' confidential Information, to all Tesco's branches in UK, by CD, in unregistered post, by any chance.
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john, chorley says...
7:55pm Sun 2 Dec 07

After reading all the posts with regards to this parking fiasco , i can only asume MARK and ANON work for TESCOS ???
how would you feel if
your wife was accused of being on tescos car park all day when she wasnt , for all the block heads out there IF THIS LETTER HAD GONE TO A COMPANY CAR OWNER ,THE COMPANY COULD HAVE ASKED WHY HAVE YOU BEEN PARKED ON TESCOS CAR PARK ALL DAY WHEN IN FACT THEY HADNT , SOME UNFORTUNATE TRUTH FULL PERSON COULD HAVE LOST THERE JOB BECAUSE OF TESCOS WRONGFUL ACCUSATIONS ???????
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Scrutineer, Derby says...
10:08am Sat 1 Dec 07

Some of you have identified the real issue with these stories. Threatening letters landing on your doormat are stressful and irritating.

The data protection aspect is criminal.

Tesco is a commercial retail enterprise. They are not special. Alongside their goods, trolleys and coffee shops, they operate a car park in order to facilitate their sales process. The car park is an investment, capital expenditure and probably tax deductible.

I register my vehicle with the government in order to facilitate road tax, MOT and legitimate crime prevention.

As far as I know, my parking on Tesco's car park for 3 hours and 1 minute is not an infringement of any law or bylaw.

Tesco is not yet a sovereign state. They don't make up their own laws.

The DVLA should not share divulge my personal data to commercial enterprises.

Simple.

To the ignorant who feel this is overstating the problem or hysterical. You should get out more, learn to read and start thinking about the world around you.
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Claire, Lancashire says...
9:33am Sat 1 Dec 07

You would think Tesco would be quite happy for someone to spend that amount of time in their shop, 3 hours isn't a huge amount of time, especially if you have something to eat in the cafe, trying on clothes etc. Fair enough fine the ones who use it as a works car park, but use some common sense, how can you fine someone for being in the store. And Mark - at least she is doing something about Tesco's total incompetence and not taking the easy option and throwing it in the bin.
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richard turner, astley village says...
8:16pm Fri 30 Nov 07

I read the headlines on the front page of the citizen and could hardly beleive what an exiting town we live in. "Woman given a warning letter for ignoring several massive signs"
If she had spoken to staff and said i have been over three hours and explained the reason there would not have been a problem.
Tesco put the signs up because people were meeting up at tesco car park, leaving their cars and travelling to work in one vehicle leaving other vehicles taking up shoppers spaces.
Message to Mark - Christ has nothing to do with it, good job you dont live in Sudan you could be in bother.
There must be more important issues than this.
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julia, clitheroe says...
12:47pm Fri 30 Nov 07

i had the same problems with tesco in clitheroe. i received a letter earlier in the year threatening me with a fine saying i ahd stayed in the car park for over two hours, as i live about a quarter of a mile form the store i only enter the car park for more than fifteen minutes once a week to do my weekly shop. i wrote to tescos requesting a copy of the photograph which they quoted they had. a week later i got a letter saying they would not proceed any further. one month later a fine came through my door saying i had been on the car park for over five hours. i went throughwhat i did on the day in question as it was impossible that i would be on the car park for that long. i entered the car park at 12.15 could not park(as usual) as all the parent and child spaces were full as was the rest of the car park so i left and shopped at sainsbury,s returning to tescos later that evening. the camera had taken a shot of me entering in the morning and in the evening but not in between. i wrotr to the chief executive of tescos with a copy of my receipt and switch bill and asked him to explain how this could happen and how many times this had happened to people who could not prove where they were. i eventually got a letter back basically saying that the fine would be cancelled on this occasion, no apology or expalination. tesco need to work on their customer services before they have none left!!!
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Abdul, BUrnley says...
12:33pm Fri 30 Nov 07

this is outrageous...we the shoppers should boycott all these big superstores, who makes huge profits from us.
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Brian, Preston says...
12:29am Fri 30 Nov 07

Mrs Kay, you cannot be FINED. Alll the company can do is issue with an invoice based on some spurious contract they will say you have entered into with them.

Please, everyone, take a look at the forums on www.pepipoo.com for some useful advice.

LT - you have already had a roasting from the PCC for writing about so-called fines (remember Matthew Brough?). Is there a reason why you could not make the position clear for your readers within this story?
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graham, Chorley says...
4:48pm Thu 29 Nov 07

Mark wrote:
Christ, it's only a letter... Yeah, it's a bit off of them to send it to a customer who had genuineyly spent the three hours in their store, but people... get a grip! Laugh at the letter... screw it up... put it the bin... and get on with your life! No wonder she's off work with stress if she becomes emotionally devastated by something as trivial as this... Imagine if she got a parking ticket? Hell fire, the Samaritans would have to send someone out to visit!
In reaction to Mark, and Anon of Blackurn( who remains anonymous so as not to be identified. Do you work for Tesco).

I also know of people who have been accused of parking on their car park and they quote over 5 hours, yet that person was during that time was in Blackburn, Preston and Leyland. A leyland taxi driver received a warning letter for parking over 3 hours and he dropped a passenger off.

Somebody at Tesco is obviously getting figures up for reasons.

The one for 5 hours was also in July
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Padiham Paul, Padiham says...
3:15pm Thu 29 Nov 07

Let me just clear up a couple of points. Firstly Tesco or any other company cannot issue a FINE. Only a court can issue a fine. What they would really send is an INVOICE dressed up to look as if it carries more weight than it does. Secondly they are sending the letter to the registered keeper, whose details DVLA divulged for a small price. The person who would actually be responsible for paying any invoice issued would be the driver of the vehicle, not necessarily the same thing as the keeper. It is the driver that has entered into the contract by parking there. If the driver is not the same person as the keeper, then the keeper is not responsible for paying any invoices and does not need to tell them who was the driver at the time. that is for the company issuing the invoice to find out who the driver was. I would tell them i was not driving and to get stuffed!
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Anon, Blackburn says...
1:28pm Thu 29 Nov 07

Mark, Lancs,
I couldn`t sum it up better.
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Bob, Longridge says...
1:25pm Thu 29 Nov 07

Once again, another government department gives peoples details away. This being the case, how long will it be before organised crime uses the same technique as tesco to steal vehicles worth millions of pounds.

I'd boycott anything related to tesco. I'd visit my MP, to complain about the dvla, and remind them just who puts them where they are.
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Mark, Lancs says...
12:52pm Thu 29 Nov 07

Christ, it's only a letter... Yeah, it's a bit off of them to send it to a customer who had genuineyly spent the three hours in their store, but people... get a grip! Laugh at the letter... screw it up... put it the bin... and get on with your life! No wonder she's off work with stress if she becomes emotionally devastated by something as trivial as this... Imagine if she got a parking ticket? Hell fire, the Samaritans would have to send someone out to visit!
Report this post »

J Brown, says...
12:17pm Thu 29 Nov 07

And imagine how awful it will be when these people have access to the ID card database etc.

And annoyed, why not get 2 cars ready and the next time the vehicle blocks your drive park 1 an inch from the front and the other an inch from the back, then refuse to move them - I'm sure they'll wish to discuss the issue then
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j burns, 486-858 says...
11:46pm Wed 28 Nov 07

we have just had a real battle with tesco over the same problem after having recieved a warning letter like the other readers , we warned tesco with legal action from a solicitor if thay didnt issue an oppology , which they did reluctantly in the end , thay say my wifes car enterd tesco at 12.15 which was correct and left at 5.20pm , wrong, she had called in for a sandwich at lunch and then gone back to work at 1.00pm , she returned to the store at 4.00pm to do her weekley shopping .we had to produce evidence to tesco in the form of a timed post office receipt, both lunch and evening till receipts and two adresses for meetings she attended in leyland and buckshaw village between 1.00pm and 4.00pm
we only got a reply after badgering them into looking into this mess . tesco are breaking the law by accusing customers of something that thay havnt done .
if they where as keen on keeping the disabled parking bays free for disabled people and issue fines on the cars parked ilegal , then all good and well but to post out letters accusing customers of wrong doing is totaly unaceptable , i hope the tesco manager has read your paper , as he wouldnt speak to me when i rang up to complain
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Amazed, Chorley says...
7:28pm Wed 28 Nov 07

I also am amazed at this. They should be gratefull for your custom.Where on earth would you go apart from Tesco ? There is nowhere else, it is in the middle of nowhere !! I suggest going somewhere like Asda or Morrissons where it is much cheper anyway !
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annoyed, next to Tesco says...
3:08pm Wed 28 Nov 07

I live in the same street as one of those Tesco Express stores and delivery drivers are always blocking my driveway as they unload the wagons at the crack of dawn. No amount of trips to Tesco to or the council has resolved the problem. Maybe I should contact the DVLA.
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Pam, Chorley says...
2:02pm Wed 28 Nov 07

I also received a warning letter from Tesco after visiting the Chorley store back in July. I called in for a few items after returning from holiday and then went back a couple of hours later for a couple more things I had forgotten. However Tesco's are insisting that I did not make two trips despite having two receipts. Therefore, I have now taken my custom elsewhere.
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Shopper, says...
1:10pm Wed 28 Nov 07

Absolutely outrageous. Boycott them, Virginia — it is the only answer. We have seen two hour signs at other local superstores and have often found ourselves going close to the limit as we call for a brew or meal and then do a full shop with a five-year-old, but they are near football grounds and the limit is understandable. But on an out-of-town site with nothing else around? Ridiculous. Do they want custom or not?
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PARKING WARNING: Supply teacher Virginia Kay was sent a letter by Tesco for spending too long on their car park PARKING WARNING: Supply teacher Virginia Kay was sent a letter by Tesco for spending too long on their car park

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