Update: - Brother wrote to manager of hotel telling them what the blighters who managed his parking were up to. Manager of hotel checked and saw as suspected that a B had appeared somehow before the registration. Matter was dropped. Why UKCPM couldn't do this themselves huh? Hmmmm....

My brother received a notifications of a charge from UKCPM. Going back a few months he went on holiday, during this period he parked for considerably under the time he paid for in a UKCPM car park. He wrote to them flatly denying that any "offence" has occurred. They have now written back informing him that his "appeal" has been turned down. He says this wasn't an appeal. It was a complete and utter rejection of the notion that there was ever anything to appeal about. This is the enquiry that I am making on his behalf. He, being a charitable sort, thinks he may have entered the wrong registration number in their machine. They say that it was his responsibility to ensure that he enter the correct vehicle registration number in the machine. Is this true? Or does his responsibility begin and end with paying for the amount of time he was parked? ("parking charge" legality notwithstanding) Which he did. Amply. As I was writing this it occurred to me that they will know when he entered the car park, they will know when he left the car park, as they will have photographic evidence. They will thusly know how long he was there. They will know how much money was accrued on that day, via what numbers, and it would be a simple matter for them to check if this tallies with my brother's version of events. But- did he have to put the right number in or is this BS on their part? Just so as to know on next replying.

My brother has received one of these notifications for a charge from UKCPM. Going back a few months he went on holiday, and during this period he parked for considerably under the time he paid for in a UKCPM car park. He wrote to them flatly denying that any "offence" has occurred. They have now written back informing him that his "appeal" has been turned down. He says this wasn't an appeal. It was a complete and utter rejection of the notion that there was ever anything to appeal about. This is the enquiry that I am making on his behalf. He, being a charitable sort, thinks he may have entered the wrong registration number in their machine. They say that it was his responsibility to ensure that he enter the correct vehicle registration number in the machine. I don't think this is true. I think his responsibility begins and ends with paying for the amount of time he was in the car park ("parking charge" legality notwithstanding) which he did. Amply. As I was writing this is occurred to me that they will know when he entered the car park, they will know when he left the car park, as they will have photographic evidence. They will thusly know how long he was there. They will know how much money was accrued on that day, and it would be a simple matter for them to check if this tallies with my brother's version of events. But- did he have to put the right number in or is this BS on their part?

I was similarly accused by a LIDL security person a few weeks ago (I had bottles of nonalcoholic malted drinks in a bag from elsewhere) and "fronted it"- I had been advised so to do on this forum after an incident a few years ago in TESCO. All I did this time was:- walked in, looked at the cereals and walked out again. I was then stopped by a security guard and remembered all of the suggestions and lessons from the TESCO incident. "Can I look in your bag?" "Why?" "Because I suspect you have something in your bag" "No you can't" and walked off. She then threatened to phone police. "Are you arresting me?" "No the police will arrest you." I wandered in and out of other shops on the area, located cereal, went home.No police appeared. "Are you arresting me?" seems to work a treat. Then I wrote a complaining letter to LIDL. This is where I need further advice:-they say that this is entirely the fault of the security firm and nothing to do with them. This I doubt. I think it would swiftly become something to do with them were I guilty! Any ideas?

I have now requested that the offer of compensation, which has been upped to £50, be sent to me. The person representing the shop/chain says "I trust this is an end to the matter" but I have not said this. The £50 I consider mere compo for the trouble they have put me to via their prevarication and obfuscation. I said this was accepted "without prejudice" in an earlier email. By the way:- friend of mine, a slight youth, prone to drinking. Wandered round same supermarket a week or three ago, after drinking (thinks:-) "will buy some fags but first what is in the bargains?"....blatantly followed by security guard (not the same one). Turns to security guard "why are you following me?" "It is my job" "It is your job to follow me?" "Yes" "You are an (minor gutter expletive deleted)!" AT WHICH POINT he was collared by the security guard and manhandled out of the store. I have been saying "get the CCTV" but I don't think he is convinced. What says anyone here?

Continued obfuscatory behaviour. Woman I was originally dealing with carried on with her nonsense, so I asked to be referred to her superior. He too carried on with said nonsense, stating that security guard had right to challenge me, that I had no automatic right to CCTV footage. I abandoned the correspondence for @ 1 month due to personal circumstances but have now looked at his last email. Pathetic amount of vouchers offered in compensation which I have now said I may just reluctantly accept but without prejudice and do not consider the matter at an end.

So far:- I have requested the CCTV footage and it is conspicuous by its absence. I asked the Customer Services of said supermarket chain for email of their legal dept., and they claimed that their legal dept did not have an e-mail. Which seems a bit C20th of them! I told them I did not want to phone their legal dept because I wanted a written record of all communications.

On edit make that "No" to the touching a "perhaps". Certainly not forcefully, but then I am a well-built fellow.

Thank you ArtisanUK. No to the first yes to the second. I was detained via the temporary confiscation of my purchase. Also I was misled by the head office in their replies on two counts:- that the security guard was within his rights, and that I was not entitled to request the CCTV footage. They have reneged on the 2nd but not the 1st.

Thank you. Such was the extent of the queue at this time that I couldn't really ask for a receipt/alert the staff as this would have been perceived as impolite, as queue jumping. I have been assured that said security guard (who works for a private firm employed by the supermarket) will not work in that supermarket again, though he has probably not been sacked. I still don't think this is enough and am taking the matter as far as I can, for what that's worth.

Recently I was involved in an incident in a well-known high street supermarket. I was embarking on a journey and felt in need of refreshment, so I entered said supermarket. There was quite a queue, but the automated machine was free and as I only required a soft drink I used it, placing in the exact change, item on bagging area, etc. All went well except that I did not get a receipt. I thought at the time that not having a receipt was not a problem, yet on leaving I was accosted by the security guard who asked if I had paid for the item. I said yes. He asked me if I had a receipt, I said no the machine did not issue a receipt. He instructed me to return to the machine, and I realised I was on the verge of being apprehended for shoplifting. As I was on a tight schedule I started protesting, loudly but firmly, because I wanted everyone in the queue to realise my innocence. "Why is it my problem if your machine doesn't work?I have places to be..." etc. They refused to answer this, never once directly accusing me of shoplifting, though this was the obvious implication. First the security guard messed with the machine, said something about the receipt in the machine which was from a previous transaction (the inference that I had stolen still ongoing) and then he called the manager and returned to his post. The manager then proceeded to mess with the machine. All the while I was loudly-but-firmly asking why exactly this was my problem and I had somewhere to go etc, was not being answered or directly accused of shoplifting, no doubt as they had been trained not to do so until they had me bang to rights. This went on for several minutes. Then the manager gave me the soft drink and said "that is yours now you can go." I said, "that's it is it? I get accused of stealing and that is all I get?" He said "no one has accused you of stealing sir" and I pointed to the security guard and said "Him! He accused me of stealing!" And then I went over to the security guard and took his name. When I got home from my evening's entertainment I wrote to the supermarket head office. All I got out of them was the apology I should have got (but didn't) from the manager and security guard. What is my legal standing on this? Am I obliged to take a receipt? What if (as in this case) I didn't get one? I have asked why exactly the security guard unneccessarily placed me under suspicion but have yet to recieve a direct reply!