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Lidl...Can they do this?



Tom Hark Preston Park

Will Post For Cash
Jul 6, 2003
72,327
1959 said:
My wife parked at Lidl in Kemptown a couple of weeks ago and (unavoidably) overstayed the two hours allowed by 15 minutes or so.
She got a letter this week from a firm in Borehamwood telling her she had to pay a £150 fine, which would be reduced to £75 if she paid within 15 days.
It appears they have cameras there, with number-plate recognition software, which log exactly when you come and go.
The letter makes it clear that if she didn't pay, it would go up and up.
At Waitrose, it's £15 if you overstay, which acts as a deterrent to people who might take the piss with parking there. £150 / £75 isn't a deterrent, it's extortion.
Any legal people on the board know if this is allowed? Is the DVLA allowed to hand out people's contact details to private companies who request it?
It doesn't seem right to me.

Has to be asked: Who in their right minds would spend over two hours shopping at Lidl? ???
 






desprateseagull

New member
Jul 20, 2003
10,171
brighton, actually
If you have bought somethinh from them. i would send a copy of the receipt to the ripof firm, ith a polite invitation to store it somewhere uncomfortable.

i have seen many stories where these signs are not clear, or obvius BEFORE you go in, so giving you the option to choose somewhere else.

the 'fines' seem totally OTT, and should be reported- a negative feature by the press may change their minds!

btw, i wouldnt want to spend more than 15mins (if any) at Lidl, let alone 2 hours!

re the DVLA, i didn't think they are alowed to give out any car owner details, as a breach of DPA? (police enquiries excepted)
 


e77

Well-known member
May 23, 2004
7,270
Worthing
Also ask to see a copy of the film. No idea if you have the right or not but wastes some time.
 


I'm pretty sure parking 'regulations' are not enforceable on private land. I remember an article in the papers not too long ago when a firm were forced to pay compensation to a bloke whose car they had clamped - because the car park was on private land and the clamping was seen as an illegal attempt to enforce regulations.

Go and see Citizen's Advice - if it's true, they'll be able to help frame a letter.
 




BensGrandad

New member
Jul 13, 2003
72,015
Haywards Heath
Re: Re: Lidl...Can they do this?

Tory Boy said:

If I was you I would say your wife made two trips to the shop in a short time, maybe she saw a bargain and didn't have money to pay for it, thus went to the nearest cash-point etc.


I did this when parked in a 2 hour parking zone with no return for 1 hour in Ripley and received a ticket from Guildford Borough Council.

They produced evidence that I hadn't left the parking spot and wanted proof that I had i.e till receipts or a bank timed stamp. I insisted that I was doing this on behalf of the owner of the pub and that it was a breach of the Data protection Act for me to give them this information. Next letter from them said that their warden had made a note of the valve positions on my wheels using a clock face as a guide and they were in exactly the same position 3 and 1/2 hours later. I said that this was not irrefutable evidence but pure coincidence, and that they should take me to court. They dropped the charges and cancelled the ticket.
 


Jam The Man

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
8,226
South East North Lancing
I went into Lidl's once and decided it wasn't the place for me when i saw the food item 'biskits mitt choklat' - call me picky if you want!
 


Race

The Tank Rules!
Aug 28, 2004
7,822
Hampshire
Jam The Man said:
I went into Lidl's once and decided it wasn't the place for me when i saw the food item 'biskits mitt choklat' - call me picky if you want!

:lolol: nowt wrong with being a snob! I cant say I've ever seen a Lidl let alone been in one!
 




Ex-Staffs Gull

New member
Jul 5, 2003
1,687
Adelaide, SA
They used to do loads on these on TalkSport sunday nights. Mike Dicken et al. There is a national organisation that fights this sort of thing, and a quick e-mail to TalkSport will get you the web site. They can help you sort this, as so many people in a simular position to you paid up and shouldn't have done. Most tickets are illegal and un-enforcable (even local authority ones) - contact them asap and I would be really surprised if you don't get away with it.

found the web sites

Barrie Segal's web site is http://www.appealnow.com/

Neil Herron -
http://neilherron.blogspot.com/
 
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northstandnorth

THE GOLDSTONE
Oct 13, 2003
2,441
A272 at 85 mph
DVLA SELLS details to approved companies so it is no surprise that they traced your wife through them.but most parking restrictions(private and roadside)are actually contestable in law due to errors in the way they are set up.
few yellow lines are actually continuous and with the correct bar markings at the ends(if,for example,they include a drain and most do.the lines should terminate and restart the other side)and many parking bays are marked out incorrectly.
you need to check out the advice out there on protest sites,you have a good chance of challenging the fine on a technicality
 


Collar Feeler

No longer feeling collars
Jul 26, 2003
1,322
Firstly, it isn't a 'fine' since it hasn't been issued by the crown or any of its agents. It amounts to a civil debt which they would need to pursue through the civil courts.

Unfortunately, anybody (and this includes anyone with a criminal record unbelievably!!) can purchase the name and address of any vehicle's owner from the DVLA for £2.50! It's legal and DVLA sell theses details to clampers, parking companies and all manner of dubious persons and companies. There are no private companies that have access to the Police National Computer Driver & Vehicle database and any that claim they do are lying. Likewise, the oft quoted 'Advanced Number Plate recognition equipment' blurb is also misleading. A lot of petrol stations and supermarkets do have 'number plate recognition' equipment and many are linked together in a network. They use it to deny access to petrol pumps or to their shops. However, the vehicle indexes on their database has no link to the police it is simply a collection of number plates that have been variously recorded up and down the country by these firms as involved in theft of petrol, shoplifting etc..

Initially I would simply respond that you own the car but did not park it there. Unlike police issued speeding fines or other certain police tickets, civilian firms have no powers to demand details of the driver of the vehicle, it would therefore fall to them to prove who the driver was responsible for parking it in the car park. Just because you own the vehicle, doesn't make you liable for a civil debt caused by another person! You have no responsibilty to reveal who parked the car there and they have no power to demand that information.

If they continue to pursue it, demand evidence that your vehicle was parked at that location by you and also demand evidence that the equipment they used to measure the length of stay is accurate and reliable and subject to independent scrutiny to prove it hasn't been tampered with. In fact demand evidence of anything that you think sounds reasonable and word it in a way that sounds like a solicitor has given you advice:lolol:
 
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1959

Member
Sep 20, 2005
345
Thanks, everyone. I can't believe all this stuff we're going to have to wade through now. Tons to consider, and all good stuff.
Once again, thankyou.
 










Brixtaan

New member
Jul 7, 2003
5,030
Border country.East Preston.
Great post XooX! (i know a police Brighton fan in Hove so i'm just wondering...?).Anyway, you won't be able to help with my list of latest driving errors(do you have a defence for scooter riding in bus lanes?or not scratching out the DAY on a Hove residents permit?) but i'm sure there'll come a time when you get a pm.
 


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