Must I Pay Supermarket Parking Fine?

Question

A mate has just received a parking fine through the post from supermarket chain 'Aldi'.
Whereas he DID overstay the clearly defined hours, is he legally obliged to pay? Apparently, this is not criminal law, but contract law.
Many thanks.

Answer 1

Legally, yes "your mate" does have to pay if he was the one who parked there and also is aware he broke the contract he entered into.



But.........



The contract is with the driver and not the vehicles registered keeper (they could be different).

IF there are no cameras in the car park and "your mate" is sure that they have no photographic evidence then he COULD if he wanted to say he was not driving and that the company need to contact the driver.

"your mate" is under no obligation to inform the company of who the driver was, it is upto the company to provide proof of who actually entered into the contract with them and to contact them.



The "contract" is basically that the company put up signage giving the parking conditions and by reading and using the car park the driver accepted these terms.



There is loads of info on the web about this sort of ticket.

Answer 2

'Moses' & 'Chewy Louie' really ought to study the Q a bit better. The facts as stated are that the person did overstay and therefore, on the face of it, has broken the contractual terms upon which the company relies. Since the notice has been received by the person who overstayed it is reasonable to deduce that the registered keeper and driver are one and the same person. The company will have contacted DVLC to obtain the keepers details.



Why 'Cadfael' heads his Q with 'I' slightly baffles me unless as so often is the case, Cadfael was the keeper and driver and is hiding some facts behind the Q.



It is quite right to stay that the company can not issue a 'fine' and if they want to pursue it must make a claim in the 'small claims ( County ) court. If they win then they can use various methods to obtain their money.



Writing a letter to tell lies is something you must not do, its wrong and stupid. The best thing is to say nothing and write nothing, a driver is under no obligation to answer any Q's if the company does bother to persue it. If the company does take court action it is entirely a matter for the driver to decide if they want to enter a defence but again be very carefull, saying nothing is one thing, telling lies a serious matter - they may just produce some CCTV stills.

Answer 3

It is a civil matter and not a criminal one, as you say. They have not levied a "fine", which they are not entitled to do, but have submitted an invoice. If they take you to court the court will decide whether is was you or not and whether you are deemed to have entered into a contract with them.



I know of one parking company (one of the big ones) which always takes court action, and of at least one other which never does . . .

Answer 4

Lidl tried this in their West Yorkshire sites and dropped it as it was impossible to enforce. Not much help, but Aldi will have their work cut out proving it was your mate who was driving.

Answer 5

It's simple to solve get Your friend to write to the company that issued the fine and state clearly that it wasn't him at the wheel of the vehicle in question. It will render the fine impossible to enforce. He must also state that a copy of this letter has been placed in the hands of his solicitor. and any further attempts of illegal enforcement against him will be met with litigation. Trust me they're fall over themselves to drop the fine. They always do. A parking fine of this kind is only enforceable if you choose to accept responsibility

Answer 6

Moses has it spot on, they are not fines but invoices. The company has to prove who was driving at the time as this comes under contract law. The person driving agrees to the contract and is liaible. As it is a civil offence they have to prove he was driving.

Answer 7

It is a civil matter and they can register a debt against you. Whilst you do not need to pay it will effect your credit rating.

Answer 8

yes pay it Coz if you don't you will end up paying out loads

the fact is you parked your car you should know the terms

Answer 9

The only way they can collect is to take him to court and i don't think they will waste their time.

Answer 10

yes, if he got a citation