A FURIOUS customer who was slapped with a £100 fine after parking outside Home Bargains during a £317 shopping trip has vowed to never return.
Andrew Bradley and his wife Amey were fined after buying Christmas presents on December 21.
A man refused to return to Home Bargains after being fined £100 – and spent more than £300 in the storeNorth News
The pair were caught short by parking wardens after spending around two hours shoppingNorth News
The pair were caught short by parking wardens after spending around two hours shopping.
And they were given a £100 fine for out-staying the car park’s 90-minute maximum time limit.
Andrew, a 53-year-old chauffeur, said: “We’d been in Newcastle for a hospital appointment and called Home Bargains on the way home for a bit of Christmas shopping.
“We spent £317 in the store. I’ve still got the receipt to prove it.
“After New Year, we got a letter in the post with a £100 fine for being parked too long. It’s so unfair – we’d only been in the store.
“It’s not as if we parked there and went somewhere else.
“I will never go back to Home Bargains after this.”
A Parking Charge Notice sent to Andrew’s home in Tow Law, County Durham, said he had been parked at the store for two hours and two minutes.
He said: ” We were there just over two hours.
“It was four days before Christmas, so it was really busy, and we couldn’t get around the store at that time.
“We must have spent about 20 minutes in the queue for the tills.
“My wife has had a major operation, so she can’t move as quickly or help pack the bags.
“There are lots of vulnerable people who’d struggle.”
Andrew said that when he disputed the fine at the store, the manager advised him to speak with Parking Eye, the company in charge of managing the car park.
The parking company lowered his fine to £20, which he paid on January 31.
He added: “I went into the store and asked them what they could do about it, but I was told to contact Parking Eye.
“I contacted them, and they reduced the fine to £20, which I paid a couple of weeks ago.”
The parking firm, Parking eye, has now agreed to refund Andew’s fine.
A spokesperson for the firm said: “The car park at Home Bargains in Stanley features four prominent and highly-visible signs throughout, providing information on how to use the car park responsibly, including guidance on how all customers using the car park have a 1.5-hour maximum stay period.
“The motorist received a Parking Charge Notice due to parking for over two hours.
“However, following a review of the case, we have cancelled the notice as a gesture of goodwill.
“Parking Eye operates a BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their Parking Charge Notice.”