Athena ANPR PCN - exceeded free parking by 21 mins - Lidl Eltham ***CANCELLED BY LIDL***

[ennis]

Fined for exceeding the free parking period.

 

I can’t found the form the other posters have filled out with details of fine etc but it happened on the 3rd September issue date 7th September. I received the fine on the 16th September but this is delayed, I imagine, due to my car being a car hire so was alerted to it my.

 

 Shopped at Lidl, have proof of shopping with my Apple Pay but not a physical receipt.

 

 Looking back with Google maps there are signs saying customer parking but no obvious terms.

 

Having read some posts on here, I have written to the CEO, included proof of shopping etc and am waiting for their reply.

 

 Feeling hopeful but also anxious I will end up having to deal with Athena and they seem like hideous people to deal with.

 

 Any advice greatfully received.

 

 Attached fine 

 

Email I sent to CEO (havehad no confirmation that they have received the email) [email protected] (hope this is the current ceo)

below.

 

 

Dear Christian,

 

I hope this finds you healthy and well in this unprecedented time.

 

I have recently moved to SE9 from NW3 and having been a religious online grocery shopper, spending large amounts with Ocado, please see attached document.

Since moving to SE9, having recently bought a car, the current financial climate & having more options for our grocery shopping, we decided to start shopping at Lidl in Eltham having heard good things. 

We have gone in there a few times now and, so far, we are pleased with the produce we come home with & the customer service experience. Also this branch has a lot of house hold goods, clothing, gardening and recently DIY equipment, lots to look through.

 

Our visit on the 3rd September, we must have taken longer than we realised. We were there with friends and they were doing a big shop, us not so big this time and afterwards we even signed up for Lidl Plus, please see attached document, so we were really pleased.

 

Today I was shocked to receive a, very un, Civil Parking Charge Notice for being in the car park 21 minutes over the the 90 minute free parking, please see notices attached below. We had no idea this free parking restriction even existed and there centrally wasn’t any adequate signage to alert us in our arrival.

 

Please find proof of our purchase attached, please note the time of the purchase 16.38 and the notice states we departed the car park at 16.42.

 

We trust that this will be addressed, so that your customers can park, at least, knowing what the parking terms are before they choose to park and shop in your store.

 

As valued & loyal customers this is unfair and we kindly ask that you tell Athena to cancel this charge.

 

Thank you for your time in addressing this matter.

 

[honeybee13]

Hi.

 

Have you had a reply from the CEO so far?

 

I'll post the forum sticky below. Please don't do anything else until the forum regulars can get here to advise you, especially don't appeal to Athena. You've had what we call a speculative invoice, Athena don't have the power to fine you.

 

The guys should be along later.

 

HB

 

 

PS You need to edit your car reg out of the Athena PCN, to keep this anonymous.

 

[ennis]

Thank you!!! I will attempt to edit reg now.

 

 No reply so far, it’s been one business day since I sent it.

 

Not sure how to delete the already uploaded attachment, any clues greatfully received. TIA

 

I managed to delete from the attachments on my account but it is still showing on the post.

 

i tried to upload the edited photo (Same Format as the ones I already uploaded & ours saying it’s the wrong format.

 

TIA

[FTMDave]

Some googling confirms that this is indeed the current CEO.  Thanks for posting the address, it will be very useful for others in a similar position.  Pestering the CEO is definitely the right strategy 

[ennis]

thank you for confirming, and will update as soon as I hear anything.

[Bazooka Boo]

How long is the stated parking? Under three hours??

 

Can you go back and photograph the entrance and any signage in the car park?

 

 

[ennis]

90 minutes

 

 it doesn’t seem to let me upload the photos, I took from google.
Should I go there and take photos? 

 

TIA

Sorry yes, I can go back and take photos in person.

[Bazooka Boo]

Well I doubt they have permission to alter the parking time limit to 90 minutes, have a look on the local authorities website and see if they have planning permission to alter the timings, and check if they also have PP to erect signs.

[ennis]

Are you saying that all private parking Land has a default length of time to park?

[dx100uk]

can you please copy and paste the ANPR Q&A section of the link in post 2 above back to a new msg box here and answer each question at it's end before hitting reply.

 

the original planning permission granted by the council will never be 90mins, typically the time will be 2 or even 3hrs free parking

and no-one bar the council can very that.

 

any private parking company needs explicit planning permission from the council to put up signs, ANPR camera and the poles both are on.

 

 

[ennis]

For PCN's received through the post [ANPR camera capture] 

(must be received within 14 days from the Incident)

 

please answer the following questions.

 

1 Date of the infringement 03-09-2020
 

 

2 Date on the NTK [this must have been received within 14 days from the 'offence' date] 

 

[scan up BOTHSIDES as ONE PDF- follow the upload guide]

 

3 Date received 16-09-2020
 

4 Does the NTK mention schedule 4 of The Protections of Freedoms Act 2012? [Y/N?] No
 

5 Is there any photographic evidence of the event? Yes
 

6 Have you appealed? [Y/N?] post up your appeal] Not yet. Have written email to CEO of Lidl 
 

Have you had a response? [Y/N?] post it up No
 

7 Who is the parking company? Athena ANPR Ltd

 

8. Where exactly [carpark name and town] Lidl Eltham
 

For either option, does it say which appeals body they operate under. Independent appeals Service IAS
 

Not sure what an NTK is, nothing activated to this on time notice.

 

*Abbreviated not activated

[honeybee13]

Thank you for the information. I certainly wouldn't be doing what they say in your post #7,  you could give them ammunition against you.

 

This sticky has abbreviations that we use on this forum.

 

 

HB

[dx100uk]

so get on with your letter to lidl CEO and sit on your hands now until/unless you get a letter of claim.

 

if you go by there again

then please do get clear photo's of all the signs

where they are

and the small print on them.

 

might pay you to also check planning permission as previously advised in preparation should things escalate

 

just remember, this is not a FINE .

but a speculative invoice because the driver supposedly broke some imaginary contract they signed upto by entering upon private land the PPC might or might not have a valid contract with the land OWNER to enforce parking.

 

 

[ennis]

On 18/09/2020 at 16:17, honeybee13 said:

Thank you for the information. I certainly wouldn't be doing what they say in your post #7,  you could give them ammunition against you.

 

This sticky has abbreviations that we use on this forum.

 

 

HB

Thank you!!

[ennis]

Just got back from Lidl, as I was taking photos numerous fellow Lidl shoppers came up to me saying they had had tickets too.

 

One said the staff had said it wasn’t being fully implemented and not to worry and then a week later she got a ticket for being 10 mins over the 90 mins And on the scanning machine it said you do not need your registration on the screen in shop, stating “maximum limit still applies”  but it with no mention of how long that is

 

 anyway....... attached are the photos of my findings

 

[dx100uk]

done for you try now

[ennis]

Update - Still no reply, have sent the same email to the disputes resolutions department at Lidl yesterday too

 

Can't seem to compress the file small enough to be able to post it, still trying, will of course keep you all posted.

 

 

Your support is really empowering, it was so tempting just to pay it, if it wasn't for the current finances I probably would have - Thank you!!

[ennis]

Just received this reply from Lidl on behalf of the CEO

 

"Re: Your Contact

Thank you for taking the time to contact our CEO. I have been asked to reply on his behalf.

I was sorry to learn that you received a parking charge. I appreciate this may have been frustrating for you.

In order to ensure that sufficient parking spaces are available at all times to our customers, Lidl employs third party contractors to monitor and control our car parks. So far, this service has proved reliable and effective in reducing car park abuse and in freeing up spaces for our customers. On this occasion only I would like to appeal the charge on your behalf. To enable me to assist I kindly request the following information:

· The parking charge notice number
· The vehicle registration number

Please reply directly to this email (without deleting the subject line):

I look forward to hearing from you."

 

 

Good news, on first letter too!!

 

Edited September 21, 2020 by ennis

[FTMDave]

That is certainly progress, well done.

 

The person who replied seems confused though with talk of "appealing on your behalf".  You don't want an appeal, you want Lidl to have it cancelled.  Lidl employ Athena and are completely capable of calling their dogs off.

[Kamp]

It did take few days for their reply. Hopefully u will be in luck soon, Ennis. Good luck to u. 

I haven't received any reply to my mail where I refused to pay. I guess they r dealing with too many people complaining about PCN received. 

[ennis]

next update.

 

 

Re: Your Contact

Thank you for your response.

In light of your comments, on this occasion only, I have requested that the parking charge is cancelled. Athena will confirm the cancellation in writing in due course.

Thank you again for contacting us.

 

[FTMDave]

Brilliant news!

[ennis]

Thank you for all your support on this fantastic group, made all the difference!!! Will be making a donation soon.

Edited September 22, 2020 by ennis

[dx100uk]

well done

 

please try and donate to keep us here.

 

dx