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......

Hi again, brassnecked - thank you very much for that. I've asked the local council if they can tell me if Parkingeye applied for any sort of permission to impose a one hour limit for free parking. It really is the fact that my parents are both elderly, and my mother is disabled that has seriously annoyed me about this - it seems incredibly petty, apart from anything else, and no, it certainly isn't reasonable for people in their position.

Will do, Bazooka Boo!

FTMDave - I have just sent an email back to Lidl's head office - they did the inevitable "fob off" response, telling me to appeal via Parkingeye. I have pointed out the ten minutes "grace", and the fact that my father was a mere seven minutes over the hour, and asked again that they arrange for the PCN to be cancelled.

I like to think so, too, brassnecked!

No, I can only imagine, lookinforinfo, that it is the currently bizarre postal service. It is really irritating, as, of course, the notice states that you can have a 50% discount if you pay within 14 days of the date of the notice, and it would leave only 6 days for him to do that, should he choose to. dx100UK - I'm hoping that this upload is OK? My thanks again for your trouble. PCN Lidls October 2021.pdf

Hi, dx100UK - for some reason, I couldn't fill in the form, so here are my replies to the relevant questions: Date of "infringement" - 7/10/21 Date on NTK - 15/10/21 Received by my father on 23/10/21 Schedule 4 is mentioned, yes There is a photo showing the car entering the car park, and one of it exiting No appeal lodged thus far Therefore no response received Company is Parkingeye Location of car park - Lidl's, Twyford Road, Eastleigh, Hants They operate under BPA. My mother is the Blue Badge holder, my father, obviously, is the driver. I don't have any pictures to upload, sorry - I don't have a printer/scanner as I'm still stuck working at home I have already had a reply to my email to LIdl Head Office asking them to arrange to cancel the charge. They say to appeal as detailed on the reverse of the PCN - why am I not surprised??!! I hope this is at least of some assistance. Thank you very much.

Thank you both very much for your responses. I've just fired off an email to the address given by FTMDave, and a letter to the actual store about their rubbish wheelchair trollies is on its way, too. Fingers crossed!

A very good morning to everyone! My father received a PCN last week - he shops regularly at a local Lidl's. The Notice tells him he was seven minutes over the measly one hour that is allowed in that car park when he drove away on 7th October. The Notice is dated 15th October. It's got the usual guff about paying half if it's within 14 days of the date of the Notice. My father is 91. He is my mother's main carer - she's 83 and has Alzheimer's and is immobile, and therefore uses a wheelchair. Because he is stubbornly independent, he won't allow me or my sister to do an online shop for him, hence the weekly shopping trip. Firstly, he has to find a Disabled space - sometimes, this means waiting a while until one becomes available, or he tries to find an "end" space in the regular part of the car park. Then, it can take him up to ten minutes to get the wheelchair out of the boot and get my mother into it. Then he has to find a trolley that attaches to the wheelchair - this has proved difficult, apparently, in the last few weeks, and he said that, this past week, he tried three until he found one that wasn't faulty. Then they can actually go in and shop. The store has a system for scanning receipts and then entering your car's registration in order to confirm that you have actually shopped in that store, and not just parked there to potter into the town. My father says that sometimes, this can take a few minutes, as there are inevitably people waiting to do this, and not all of them a)remember their registration or b)type it in correctly the first time! Once that's done, he has to get the shopping and my mother back to the car, unload her and the shopping into the car, put the wheelchair back into the car, and then they can finally leave. I have told him that I'm happy to do an online appeal to Parkingeye on his behalf - do you feel that what I have just outlined would meet with sympathy and understanding, or is there another approach that would result in a favourable outcome for my poor father? One hour is, I feel, a very tight timescale for anyone in his position, and indeed, anyone who has to cope with someone who is seriously disabled. I am also tempted to write to the management of the specific Lidl store to tell them that they've got damaged trollies that need attention! Thank you very much for your time, much appreciated.

Thank you, ericsbrother, for your sympathy. He literally only had what was in his bank account, even his car was paid for by the Motability scheme, so no, there's no estate. If only there WERE a Rembrandt!! I really appreciate all the reassurances you and the others have given me - I was so upset yesterday evening, but there's plenty of fight in me yet!

Hey, dx100! I fully intend to!