Very interesting, thanks for that. Let's see what happens when the Ofcom report comes out later this year.

If the superstore offers two hour free parking to customers (however that works, ticket, token, show receipt etc) then no, of course it's not fair and you have to fight it. but many complainers on this board openly admit that they *knew* that they should not park where they were but took the chance anyway. that's just lazy and inconsiderate. my mum's got a disabled badge by the way. it's a huge hassle for her when people park in the disabled bays in carparks etc. p.s. to Al27: "illegal" = trespassing

don't get me wrong, i can't stand the rogues and i've had my fair share of run-ins with them, i can assure you. but that still doesn't mean you should park on other people's private land without their consent, does it?

"I trespassed onto private property and now I'm being sued.. boo hoo hoo" I bet most of the folks complaining on this forum would not dream of breaking into a hotel because, oh, there's 300 rooms and a lot look like they're empty, but they think it's perfectly ok to park on a private carpark because "oh look, there's a space".

A number of people have said they think the charges are unreasonable because they "just" crossed the street to post a letter, or they "just" met a friend and went for a coffee for an hour ... Where do we draw the line? A 15 min grace period? Why not a 4 hour grace period? Why should the freeholder even care about a grace period because you the driver is being lazy? I agree that the fees may seem high, but then how else could they act as a deterent? I don't buy the excuse that "oh the lot was empty why shouldn't I park there?" I could say the same about your living room while you're out shopping. Lot's of space, can I help myself? Drivers need to be more considerate. It seems from this forum that everyone thinks they have an excuse to get away with illegal parking. It's the free-rider syndrome. Grow up. There's no signs in the street saying don't take heroin, but that doesn't make it ok, does it? If it says staff only and you're not staff -- duh! And, no, I don't work for a parking company.

I agree with DX100uk. She should consider herself lucky to have had free parking for a year.

You know you shouldn't have parked there, what "rights" do you expect?