Tesco corwall, you have to 'clockout' to avoid parking tickets! my info available to all?

[cbkernow]

Bit of a strange one...

Large Tescos here in Cornwall, following a recent refurb have decided to change the parking.

 

For the last decade or so parking has been restricted to 2 hours

- more recently this has been performed by ANPR, presumably by simply calculating time between arrival and departure.

 

The new system has been brought in "to help our customers" and now means parking is free for up to two hours

but must be validated by purchasing in store over £2.50 worth of goods,

this is of course to stop everyone parking in the car park and walking to the town centre.

 

The system operates using a set of touchscreen terminals outside the store,

upon completing your shopping, you need to collect a voucher from the checkout operator

(or try and find a customer service rep if you are using self service),

you then enter the last 3 digits of your reg into the machine,

it displays a set of images of cars matching that reg along with time of arrival,

select your car and then enter the voucher code to cancel the £70 parking charge.

 

My concern (apart form the fact that its a badly setup system which requires additional faffing about)

is that by entering 3 digits (e.g. KAF, a prevalent Cornish reg number ending before 2000)

it produces a list of all the vehicles in the car park and when they arrived.

 

Of course I'm being picky, the time I arrived and a potentially recognisable image of my car

and me in it is data that the supermarket has the right to collect to maintain the car park,

and the data is of very little use to anyone else

 

but the new system makes it available to anyone who cares to use the machine??

[hightail]

Do you go through this process to open a barrier?

[cbkernow]

nope, no barrier. Obviously there is plenty on here and other forums detailing how most of these "fines/penalty/charges" are utterly unenforcable but its the issue of Data Protection that interests me on this

[dx100uk]

blanket campaign for people to simply ignore using

 

must of cost £1000's to install.

 

just stupid 'hoop' customers appear to have to jump through

 

they don't!

 

just walk away.

 

they cant force the customers to use it ..

 

dx

[cbkernow]

I'm with you on that one, I just find it concerning that potentially personal data is being exposed through these terminals

[Tony P]

; and now means parking is free for up to two hours

but must be validated by purchasing in store over £2.50 worth of goods,

 

So Tesco charge you £2.50 (or would it be £70 via their agent as there is no receipt/voucher code?) for going to their store to find the item you wanted was out of stock.

 

Good business model.

I wish I had thought of that.

[instrumentsofjoy]

So Tesco charge you £2.50 (or would it be £70 via their agent as there is no receipt/voucher code?) for going to their store to find the item you wanted was out of stock.

 

Good business model.

I wish I had thought of that.

 

I may be thick but I am failing to understand this.

 

At what point do you pay the £2.50?

[Michael Browne]

I may be thick but I am failing to understand this.

 

At what point do you pay the £2.50?

It's the minimum required spend.

[SURFBOY]

So it isn't a free car park then?

I wonder if the council are aware and if the landowners are paying the correct rates?

Hmmmmmm!

[DBC]

At least Tesco are upfront about this minimum spend. Compare that to Parking Eye who, on at least a couple of occasions, have told a motorist they will let them off their fake parking ticket if they can "prove" ( by means of receipts or even a bank statement) they have spent at least £30 in the store. There is no mention of this in the car-park signage, so that amounts to a secret and possibly illegal clause in the T&Cs.

 

It just proves that PE don't live in the real world and that shopping doesn't always equate with spending money. Haven't they ever heard of "shopping around" or "browsing"?

[spb1957]

Think of me as pedantic if you will, but why worry about people seeing a photo of you and your car on a screen when you have just driven into a public car park and parked for all to see anyway ?

[hightail]

Does this Tesco have any other services? Many have opticians, chemists, dry cleaning service etc. How would they enforce a £2.50 charge for picking up a free prescription, free eye test or dropping off the dry cleaning?

[cbkernow]

Think of me as pedantic if you will, but why worry about people seeing a photo of you and your car on a screen when you have just driven into a public car park and parked for all to see anyway ?

 

Oh dont worry, its very much pedantic, but its about principal.

 

The supermarket/parking co. would no doubt claim they have the right to record my personal data (car reg, photo and details of when I arrive) - but I would argue that they definitely don't have the right to then share this information with anyone who uses the machine.

[SURFBOY]

At least Tesco are upfront about this minimum spend. Compare that to Parking Eye who, on at least a couple of occasions, have told a motorist they will let them off their fake parking ticket if they can "prove" ( by means of receipts or even a bank statement) they have spent at least £30 in the store. There is no mention of this in the car-park signage, so that amounts to a secret and possibly illegal clause in the T&Cs.

 

It just proves that PE don't live in the real world and that shopping doesn't always equate with spending money. Haven't they ever heard of "shopping around" or "browsing"?

 

Just been down to this store. the signs do say that you are required to spend a minimum £3 but they are in small print on the signs halfway up the light posts. It does not mention the minimum spend as you enter the car park.

[spb1957]

Oh dont worry, its very much pedantic, but its about principal.

 

The supermarket/parking co. would no doubt claim they have the right to record my personal data (car reg, photo and details of when I arrive) - but I would argue that they definitely don't have the right to then share this information with anyone who uses the machine.

 

 

I take your point there, cb, and am in agreement

[peanutsallergy]

Does this Tesco have any other services? Many have opticians, chemists, dry cleaning service etc. How would they enforce a £2.50 charge for picking up a free prescription, free eye test or dropping off the dry cleaning?

 

I can't speak for this particular store, but I've never had a problem by speaking to customer services, and getting a refund of the parking. Same if I wanted something out of stock, or just too dear.

 

As to the display of car reg and time, there are guidelines on CCTV, and use of such information, but I have to confess I'm not 100% on them.

Pepipoo may have some knowledge, the DVLA may help, and the ICO website would be worth a look.

[DBC]

Once you can get round the standard reply from too many supermarket staff of "the car park's nothing to do with us , you will have to speak to the parking company", even when it's the supermarket have employed the PPC.

[borisbeaver]

Is this the Truro store?

[cbkernow]

Yes, Truro.

[borisbeaver]

Here's the article from the West Briton:

 

Tesco Truro abandons free parking minimum £5 spend

 

TRURO's new-look Tesco store is piloting a scheme that means drivers will have to spend £5 to park there. The superstore is one of only two among the chain's 3,000 in the UK to be trying the new parking system.

 

But the scheme has already come in for some criticism. It is understood there will be a 15-minute 'grace period' and the measure is designed to prevent city centre shoppers using the supermarket as a free car park.

 

But a spokesman for Tesco would say only: "We always want to make sure our customers can find a parking space easily. This is why we've introduced a new parking system at our Truro store. "We always welcome feedback from our customers and will monitor the new system to ensure that it's helping to free up spaces for those shoppers visiting the store."

 

Cameras scan customers' numberplates as they enter the car park. When they complete their shopping, they are given a voucher code which is inserted into a machine, removing the registration number from the system.

 

However, those failing to comply face a £70 fine.

 

The charge has been met with mixed feelings from city councillors. Councillor Rob Nolan called the move "harsh and counterproductive. "What if I want to linger for 45 minutes over a coffee and read the West Briton in the new coffee shop? That's £3.50. Will I be fined £70? "We need Tesco to work in partnership with us. The town shops benefit from having Tesco close in, and Tesco benefit from the town. "A two-hour maximum would have done the job."

 

Councillor Rosamund Cox said: "My husband is diabetic and has foot problems; if he goes in there for a cabbage or a couple of rolls he won't make it in 15 minutes."

Councillor Lorrie Eathorne-Gibbons said: "I do agree that people shouldn't park and go into town and use it as a free car park while visitors and residents pay parking fees, but in the current economic climate not everybody will spend more than £5."

 

Following completion of the refurbishment last week, store manager Stuart Bourn and his team will hold a relaunch ceremony at 10am on Monday and will present Truro Foodbank with a £500 donation.

[DBC]

Good article a prt from one use of the "f" word.