A mum has vowed never to return to a Tesco after she received a fine for parking there twice in one day.
Emily Smith, 47, mistakenly assumed there would be no harm done in popping back to the store in the evening to fill up on fuel after she collected her groceries that morning.
However, she says days later she received a parking fine in the post – accusing her car of being in the car park of the Tesco Extra in Whitfield, Dover, for 10 hours.
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Emily, a charity manager, said: “We are being treated like criminals, there is no innocent until proven guilty. We have now found some proof because we use a tracking app with my eldest. It’s bonkers, and trying to prove where we were is quite hard.”
The ANPR cameras in use on the site are presumed to have failed to notice her vehicle moving in and out of the parking lot. The £35 charge doubles if not settled within 28 days, and the mum says the fears others could be frightened into paying the charge.
She says she was even threatened with further enforcement action if she didn’t pay up to the enforcement company. Emily has now refused to return to Tesco and has since given her custom to supermarket competitor Lidl.
She said: “I am deeply disappointed in Tesco – I am not going to risk being their customer again. I’m worried that this is going to happen to other people who may just pay the charge because it is really quite frightening.
“When my husband called Tesco, he was told ‘our cameras do not lie’ – we were basically accused of lying. We had to give our time and energy to get this resolved when we did not do anything wrong.
“I think it is a money-making tool for Tesco and the parking company. Because you are told the fine is less if you pay within 28 days, most people will pay it because they don’t want the hassle.
“People need to know they have the choice to shop somewhere that will not fine them if they visit more than once in a day.”
A spokesperson for Tesco said: “We are sorry to hear about this and have ensured the charge is cancelled.”
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