Forum Topic

Morrisons Car Parking Fine

Good people of Acton, I remember reading on the forum about the car park in Morrisons.I have just been sent a letter advising that I exceeded my time in the car park ( which I did by 45 minutes ), and have received a fine of £100.00.The ironic things is, is that I had just spent over £100.00 in the store for a small firework party for the young people in my scout group.I read previously that the best thing is to ignore it, please can you advise if this is still the case, as it is leaving a bad taste in my mouth, when all I was doing was trying to bring a little cheer to a few children.

Glenn Young ● 4181d26 Comments

Just ask to see the lovely Managers and explain what happened. They are so kind and will no doubt rescind the fine for you. They are really just aiming at folk who think theycan  park  there while nipping off to Acton  Town Station  and the like.

Beryl Bashford ● 3218d

Thinking about it maybe thats how they check, if they have your car registration number they have your address and can see if you have a Match and More Card which I do and is probably why I never had a parking fine.  there are no benefits to having the card really, it started off o.k but pointless unless of course you are guaranteed free parking.

Janice Evans ● 3219d

This probably gives an extra incentive to sign up for a 'Match and More' card with Morrisons. That means even if you pay with cash and don't keep the receipt you'll have evidence that you shopped at the store when you were fined. I haven't noticed any other benefits of having the card.

Andy Jones ● 3220d

I'm sure when using that store it took longer than 2 hours doing my Mums shopping as well as my own, eating there when it was cleaner and going across to Churchfield burial ground and never got a parking ticket.

Janice Evans ● 3227d

I'm sorry to hear that Michelle - it is very harsh to treat a good customer that way. The manager that served me was a lady so obviously a different person to the one that served you.I don't blame you for boycotting - I would do the same. I only shop there in emergencies these days anyway as I find the shop dirty and badly stocked.We do our weekly shop in Tesco Brook Green now - it's about a 12-15 min drive but worth it as it's a big, clean store that's not too busy and has a great range.

Richard Foster ● 3227d

Thank you for the replies - have just been to morrisons to speak to the manager.  No luck, he said unless i could produce a receipt or bank statement to prove i was there he couldn't help.  As i didn't keep the receipt and paid by cash I was unable to do this.  He was not interested in the fact that it was only 32 minutes and not several hours and said if he did it for one person he would have to do it for all.  The fact that i have shopped there several times a week for the past 15 years did not interest him.....Needless to say I won't be shopping in Morrisons again!

Michelle Andrews ● 3227d

Hi Michelle,I received one a few weeks ago for overstaying in the Morrisons car park.I had used the store but lost my receipt.  I had a number of other receipts from that store and took them to the store with my letter from parking eye and explained to the manager that I was a regular customer.  I was ready to say I would never shop there again if the fine was upheld but  I didn't have to - the manager made a phone call and got my ticket cancelled and all worn a smile.So I suggest you do the same.  An old northern saying: "shy bairns get nowt".Good luck!

Richard Foster ● 3228d

What about the Disabled?  two hours may not be enough?

Dr John Stolworthy D.Sc ● 3228d

I had one a few years ago, and when I called I was told that if I could show proof of my receipt that would be ok.Sadly I didn't have my receipt after that time, but I do keep all my receipts now for up to a month for that reason.£100 does seem a bit steep!!I did see a programme stating these fines don't always stand.

Linda Irving ● 3228d

Michelle, do not pay,but DO NOT IGNORE. The law has changed and the parking companies can pursue you up to five years after the event.Have a read of Martin Lewis' site here,http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/private-parking-ticketsand then have a thorough read of the forumshttp://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4816822I would suggest to start a new thread on here to keep us up to date (if you want too!) as this may well get lost on such an old post.

Neil Owens ● 3228d

Has anyone had a parking fine from parking eye for overstaying in morrisons car park recently? I've just received a £100 parking charge for overstaying by 32 minutes in Morrisons.  Not sure whether to pay up or ignore as the information on here is from a few years ago so not sure if out of date. Any advice appreciated. Thanks

Michelle Andrews ● 3228d

I don't think they can prosecute successfully. I ignored them and nothing happened after the third threatening letter.I was told the business model depended on them scaring people but not prosecuting as the fine would be seen to be disproportionate for a free car park...and once it wasn't upheld once, the business proposition would be shot.But maybe I am out of date...

Sara Nathan ● 4159d

Don't ignore it Glenn - Parking Eye don't let go (they're run by venture capitalists and prosecute everybody). Go to the store asap, speak to the Manager and ask them to talk to Parking Eye on your behalf. We waited until the court summons and they still weren't going to let go. Very nasty. Good luck.

Glynne Steele ● 4159d

Good for you!

Sara Nathan ● 4161d

I was sent a parking charge notice for £85 after being 5 minutes late back to my car in Morrison s carpark.  The car is registered in my husbands name and therefore the letter regarding this charge was sent to him.  I contacted the company who sent the notice offering to pay a parking charge but that £85 for a 5 minutes stay was unacceptable - they ignored this as they will only deal with the registered owner of the vehicle. After receiving the first threatening letter I contacted POPLA (http://www.popla.org.uk/) to ask advice. They took on the appeal and after several months of nasty letters we have had no further contact and have not been required to pay out any charges.  There is some good advice on the site and the contact from POPLA was reassuring and supportive through this process.  Please contact them for advice - some of the threats made are illegal/made by fake employees etc and appeal cases are due to be heard in the new year regarding legality of the charges being levied.

Jo Brianti ● 4161d

I can only echo what has previously been said. Speak to the Duty Manager at Morrisons. I had a parking fine and did just that and found Morrisons to be exceedingly helpful. I did not pay the fine and neither was I beleaguered by threatening letters demanding payment. If you are a 'regular' especially if you think you might be parked for slightly longer than the 2-hour period, have a word with the Duty Manager when in the Store.They do not wish to alienate customers, whether regular, infrequent or new.

R A Armitage ● 4177d

When I park in Morrisons Car Park I always make a point of using other shops in the area first particularly local shops. If I then find myself short of time it's Morrisons I end up spending less time at and they lose out.

Andy Jones ● 4177d

Explain the situation to The Manager at Morrisons.  Maybe you will be able to make a good contact for the Scouts!

Philippa Bond ● 4179d

We had the same problem and had lost the receipt from shopping. The Manager at Morrisons still sent a letter to get the charged removed for us. Just be super nice with them and apologetic and they should help you out.

Chris Petrie ● 4179d

GlennIt is not a fine, it is a charge. The car was parked on private land and the car driver is deemed to have entered into a contract to pay £100 is he stays for more than two hours (it's all in small print on a board as you drive in). The letter is sent to you as you're the registered owner of the vehicle, but the contract is between the car driver and the car park owner. If you ignore the letter and do not say who was driving the car (you're under no legal obligation to disclose this), in practice the charge cannot be enforced. This difficulty in enforcing private land car parking rules is one reason why clamping was so popular. This approach will not work if you break a parking rule on public highways or land. Here, the vehicle owner is liable for the fine irrespective of who parked the car.

Vlod Barchuk ● 4180d

It's probably enough to establish that you did some shopping there. It's commuters they want to deter, and people parking there just to use the mosque.

Susan Kelly ● 4180d

This happened to me once and I took my receipt to the manager who let me off immediately - I was quite surprised, all ready to get on my high horse and tell him how much I spent there etc etc!!. May be less stressful than dealing with a loads of demands... Or bank/credit card statement if you don't have the receipt.

Rosie Blair ● 4180d

Of course - dunno why I inserted the K

Sara Nathan ● 4180d

Richard Jennings. He's your man.

Susan Kelly ● 4180d

In the past I had the same problem (was doing a charity stall on the Mount) and was advised to ignore it - which I did with no adverse results. You have to hold your nerve though as the letters get increasingly nasty: three from the parking company and then three from some sort of enforcer. And then, blessedly, silence.But this was some time ago and things may have changed.There's a lot of free internet advice on the subject if you want to trawl through recent threads looking for it.Plus Richard (Jenkins I think) on the ChiswickW4 forum is a mine of really helpful parking lore and law - so you could contact him through there and ask.

Sara Nathan ● 4180d

There is a thread on this on page 2 of the Ealing forum posted by Charles Campbell entitled Parking Fine which you may find helpful.I thought you were allowed 2 hours, not sure how you can spend 2hrs 45mins in Morrisons, that's quite an achievement.

Milena Vincic ● 4181d