Hi, lookinforinfo - there's a little tiny "ParkingEye" bit in the bottom left of the larger sign and it says "BPA approved operator" in the bottom right corner of the same one - it might not be especially noticeable on my photos, though. I agree that my father is clearly being charged as allegedly not having been shopping in Lidl's, so yes, his bank statement should hopefully be sufficient for one or other of them to cancel the notice. I'd like to think, too, that Lidl's will be more helpful when I flourish the statement under the manager's nose!!

He never even takes his mobile phone, dx, we've been nagging him for years to take it everywhere, and it stays permanently on the kitchen worktop........! And yes, once his bank statement arrives, showing the transaction, I hope very much it will be game over.

Capita? Oh, the mere mention of that shower makes me want to scream!! My job means that I have to deal with them on a regular basis. As you say, though, brassnecked, the more ammo the better, even if you don't ultimately need to use it.

I'm afraid it's all correct, FTMDave, annoyingly!

Morning, FTMDave - well, let's hope that this will be sorted as soon as my father's bank statement comes through. My sister and I just can't rule out that he inadvertently didn't scan his receipt and put in his registration - he is 90, after all, bless him - but yes, it's this 1 hour and seven minutes that gets me, too!!

That's really interesting, DX100 - I will bear this in mind. This is what the council actually said: "Unfortunately, the car park at Coles Close is not owned by the Council. It is privately owned and managed by Lidl Stores Ltd. This means that they are able to commission their own parking enforcement companies to monitor parking in their car park. If you have queries about the legitimacy of a parking notice received for Coles Close car park, I would advise you to either contact Lidl Customer Care or Parking Eye themselves."

Good morning, everyone! I managed to get to the Eastleigh Lidl's store yesterday, and took some pictures of the signage. All of them are situated quite high up the posts. 90 minutes is the maximum free parking time if you are a Lidl's customer, and you have to put your registration number into a terminal inside the store, having first scanned your receipt. The signs do all display the name ParkingEye, and not Athena (it seems they were the previous parking company). I emailed the local council about any permissions required and they have told me it's absolutely nothing to do with them, as this is private land, not council land. No further there, then. My current thoughts are that my father either neglected to scan his receipt, for some reason, entered up his registration incorrectly, or both, or that the terminals are naff, which isn't unheard of. Either way, the transaction for his shopping will show up on his bank statement, so we are now waiting for that to arrive, and it can be shown to Lidl's/ParkingEye as proof that he was indeed a customer. I'm hoping that my pics will upload here OK. I've tried to zoom in so that the wording is readable. Lidl signage Oct 2021.pdf

I don't think they got their dates wrong, lookinforinfo - the PCN was dated 15th October, and the charge pertained to 7th October. Lidl's head office has said we need to appeal to the parking company, won't even consider arranging a cancellation, but we have also written to the manager of the Lidl store itself, and are waiting on a response.

Roger and wilco, lookforinfo - I'm hoping to get over there tomorrow. I think I might park elsewhere in the town and walk to Lidl's though!

Indeed, always worth checking first!

Will do, FTMDave. I'm hoping to get over there at the weekend.

I'm going to go and check the signs for myself, DX, as the person who forwarded the picture of the sign took it from Streetview, he told me eventually, which photographed the signs in 2018. I'm not going to rely on this, therefore.

That is VERY good news! Presumably, then, brassnecked, ParkingEye should have put up its own signs if it has taken over from Athena? DX100UK - I'm attaching the revised pdf, just in case. Lidl PCN Oct 2021 1.pdf

Really, DX? It's that simple? If so, I think a large gin might be in order later today!!!

A little update, with my thanks to all of you who have responded thus far. DX100UK - I am just tweaking the information you need, and my apologies for the omissions you pointed out. I have had confirmation that the signs in the car park at Lidl's state that, as long as you enter up your registration details and scan your receipt into one of the terminals instore, you have 90 minutes free parking. My father is adamant that he did this on 7th October - they shop there every week, and I can't see a reason why he wouldn't have done this. I think there is a small possibility that he might have put his registration in wrongly, but he will most certainly have proof of the shopping transaction on his bank statement, even if he doesn't still have the receipt. Interestingly, the company name on the signs in the car park shows as "Athena", not ParkingEye......