A mum who has fought an incorrect parking fine says she was made to feel like a “criminal” for visiting her local Tesco store twice in one day. Emily Smith went to the supermarket in Whitfield, Dover, in Kent, twice in a 24-hour period for shopping and to get some fuel. But as a result she was wrongly sent a £35 fine to pay.
The issue arose because of the supermarket’s ANPR car parking system which did not seem to register that Ms Smith, 47, had left and returned.
Instead, the data collected from the automatic number plate recognition led it to believe her car had been sat there for 10 hours, the Mirror reports.
Charity manager Emily 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.”
To make matters worse, the £35 charge despite being wrongly issued, doubles if it is not settled within 28 days. This, the mum said, could make others fearful of not paying up if the same happens to other shoppers.
She says she was even threatened with further action to obtain the funds if she didn’t pay up to the enforcement company. The supermarket giant has since confirmed it has wiped the parking fine.
But this hasn’t stopped her from switched allegiances, with the mum saying she will be giving her custom to Lidl.
She added: “I am deeply disappointed in Tesco – I am not going to risk being their customer again.
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“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.”
