Sainsbury’s did have the largest market share of supermarkets in the UK until 1995, when Tesco overtook them. Along side Sainsbury’s supermarkets, J Sainsbury plc owns Sainsbury’s bank, Argos (including Habitat) and Nectar. Due to the popularity and ideal location of a lot of Sainsbury’s car parks, they are keen for them not to be abused. They have been enforcing strict parking rules, and unfortunately, if not followed, you could end up getting a Sainsbury’s parking fine, also known as a Parking Charge Notice. This article will hopefully guide you through the process of fighting a Sainsbury’s parking fine.
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Sainsbury’s Car Park Time Limit
Most Sainsbury’s car parks offer up to two hours free parking. Some busier car parks may have an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system combined with Pay & Display. In these situations, there is usually no charge for stays of up to 60 minutes. If you stay longer and spend more than £10 in store, you can usually validate the discount voucher given out at the check-out for two hours free parking.
If in doubt, each store should have clear signs displayed with any restrictions.
Sainsbury’s Parking Charges
Most Sainsbury’s parking is free for two hours. Some busier car parks may be Pay & Display, however, they may off the first 60 minutes free. These car parks may offer parking validation if the minimum in store amount is spent, which is usually £10. This validation gives you up to two hours free parking.
Euro Car Parks Fine
Euro Car Parks is a Private Parking Company (PPC) that operates at some Sainsbury’s Car Parks. Some services that they may operate at these car parks could include ANPR, Pay By Phone, Pay & Display or Pay by foot.
Familiarise yourself with the parking signage in the car park once parked. These will provide you with the information on how your vehicle will be monitored and how long the free parking time limit is.
Horizon Parking Fine
Horizon Parking operate at over 300 Sainsbury stores. Horizon Parking will operate similar services to Euro Car Parks at Sainsbury’s car parks. This could include Pay & Display, ANPR, Pay by foot and Pay By Phone.
Again, familiarise yourself with the signage in the car park. The free parking limit and how your vehicle is monitored will be displayed on these signs.
Sainsbury’s Parking Fine Appeal
If you find yourself with a Sainsbury’s parking fine from either Euro Car Parks, Horizon Parking or any other PPC, here are the steps to take to try and resolve the issue without a charge.
The first thing you will want to try before appealing, is ask to speak to the store manager, at the location where you received the Parking Charge Notice. Explain the situation to them as sometime retail locations have a clause written into the contracts with PPCs to allow them to cancel Parking Charge Notices for genuine customers.
Something check is the amount of time you were in the car park for. If you were only in the car park for ten minutes or less, you could appeal it due to parking ticket grace periods. This was introduced by the Government in 2015 and applies council car parks in Scotland, England and Wales. It must be noted though, this is voluntary for PPCs that aren’t part of an Accredited Trade Association (ATA).
If you did stay over the ten minute grace period, make sure all the information on the Parking Charge Notice is correct. This doesn’t matter whether it’s a Notice To Driver or Notice To Keeper. This includes checking details such as the date and making sure you were driving the vehicle at the time of the parking offence. If anything is incorrect, provide this as evidence during and appeal and it will provide you with more leverage.
There are also some types of excuses that can be used to help get a Parking Charge Notice cancelled. Please bear in mind though, these kind of excuses could not be accepted as valid reasons for breaching parking rules. Ultimately, the decision lies with the PPC.
If you find that everything above doesn’t work, the last resort to get the Parking Charge Notice cancelled is to follow the appeals process on the Parking Charge Notice to fight your case.
Can You Ignore A Sainsbury’s Parking Fine?
You only have to pay a Sainsbury’s parking fine if you have been ordered to pay by a court. This is because a Parking Charge Notice isn’t a real fine. They are essentially an invoice from the PPC trying to recover lost revenue. They can only make you pay by taking legal action.
It is never recommended to ignore a Sainsbury’s parking fine though. If you decide to ignore, or forget about the Parking Charge Notice, it could result in problems further down the line. This could include things such as letters threatening court action and/or demanding payment. A debt collection agency and/or bailiffs could also be put on the case.
Remember that a debt collector doesn’t have any legal powers to collect a debt.
Always follow the appeals process on the Parking Charge Notice, if you feel that you received it unfairly.
Never ignore any other correspondence you receive from a PPC in relation to a parking infraction at a Sainsbury’s car park. By doing so could make the situation escalate into a County Court Judgement (CCJ), these can affect your borrowing eligibility and credit score.
TLDR: Sainsbury’s Parking Fine
- Horizon Parking currently manage over 300 car parks for Sainsbury’s;
- Horizon Parking and Euro Car Parks commonly manage Sainsbury’s car parks with ANPR, Pay By Phone, Pay & Display or Pay by foot;
- If you overstay the free parking period, or forget to validate Sainsbury’s parking, you could receive a Parking Charge Notice for breaching the parking rules;
- Try and get the Parking Charge Notice cancelled through the genuine customers clause first;
- Make sure you didn’t receive a Parking Charge Notice during a parking ticket grace period;
- Make sure all the information, such as the date, is correct on the Parking Charge Notice.
Sources used to write this article: