Furious Lidl customer 'let down' after being slapped with £100 parking fine due to 'crazy' rule

A dad of two who says he is a loyal customer has slammed a “crazy” parking rule that saw after parking outside the store.

Perry Rand, from Weybridge, said slapped on him was “unfairly” administered after he went into the Brooklands branch to pick up some dinner for his children. Perry was in the shop for just five minutes before he returned to his car and it wasn’t until a few days later that he received a letter in the post informing him he had been fined.

The 36-year-old £100 for parking the work van he uses for his plumbing business in the overflow car park. The National Parking Control enforced rules says no commercial vehicles are allowed in the overflow car park.

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Perry said according to Surrey Live: “It’s crazy, I proved I was using Lidl, now I am being charged £100 just to use the shop for five minutes. I’ve never, ever had anything like this before, and I have had a van since I was 17.”

The National Parking Control does have signs up saying no commercial vehicles are permitted to park in the overflow, but Perry says there weren’t enough and the car park should be more clearly signed. He hopes other van drivers will take note and avoid being fined.

Perry said: “If I’m not allowed to park there they should have larger signs up. I had no reason to look at the small print as a shop customer. Without clear signage, I don’t think it’s fair. Why shouldn’t you be able to use your commercial vehicle? A lot of van drivers don’t have a second car.”

He also said his van is larger than the average car and he chose to park at the Lidl customer overflow. He said: “The front car park was almost full and is tight to manoeuvre. I’m spending money in this shop and they think this is acceptable. The worst thing is that I love that shop"

Perry’s argument to the parking enforcement company that signs were not clear enough were shot down. “I feel totally let down by them,” he said. “The worst thing is that I love that shop. I don’t understand the need for it.”

Upon a second visit to the car park, Perry noticed damaged signs. In a photo of the sign taken by Perry, it appears the commercial vehicle rule has been added via a sticker after the sign was put up. The sticker looks as though it is peeling off, making it tricky to make out. He also spotted what he believed to be a traffic warden in plain clothes and vehicle.

The has approached the National Parking Control for comment. When contacted by Surrey Live, the body declined to comment.

Addressing the situation, a spokesperson for Lidl said: “We always want our customers to have a positive experience when shopping with us and are sorry to hear that this was not the case on this occasion.

“Unfortunately, the car parks across The Paddock Retail Park are not owned or operated by Lidl, therefore, in the extremely unfortunate event that a customer believes they have wrongfully received a parking charge, we encourage them appeal directly with the car park management company.”