Shopper vows to boycott Tesco after being wrongly issued with £35 parking fine when she visited supermarket twice in one day
- Emily Smith visited Tesco Extra in Whitfield, Dover, twice in one day
- Horizon Parking claims that she breached the three-hour parking stay limit
A woman has slammed Tesco and said she will not ‘risk being their customer again’ after she was slapped with a parking fine for visiting the same store twice in one day.
Emily Smith, 47, has now vowed ‘never to go back’ to Tesco after being slapped with a £35 fee.
The mother dropped in for some groceries at the Tesco Extra in Whitfield, Dover, on the morning of March 20.
She thought that there was no harm popping back into the supermarket that evening to fill up on petrol.
However, just days after, Ms Smith claims that she received a parking fine in the post after the ANPR cameras failed to pick up her vehicle leaving the supermarket giant in the first place.
Following this, she was accused of leaving her car in the car park for 10 hours.
Emily Smith received a fine after her car was recorded to have visited the Tesco Extra store in Whitfield (pictured) twice in one day
Emily Smith, from East Langdon in Dover, says she did nothing wrong but was treated like a ‘criminal’ by the supermarket giant
Horizon Parking, the firm which monitors the car park, claims that the mother breached the three-hour parking stay limit.
Speaking about this, Ms Smith, a charity manager, claims she is being treated like a criminal as she has had difficulty trying to prove where she was between leaving the big four supermarket in the morning and returning later on.
She 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.’
She continued to say that despite leaving the supermarket in the morning and returning later in the day, the ANPR cameras in use on the site must have failed to pick up their car leaving the car park.
She has been slapped with a £35 fee, and the charge will double if not settled within 28 days.
Now, the mother says that she fears others could also be frightened into paying the charge after she was threatened with further enforcement action if she didn’t pay up to the enforcement company.
Following this incident, Ms Smith says that she will now be giving her custom to Lidl in the future.
Horizon, the firm which monitors the car park, sent her a fine in the post, claiming the vehicle was left there for more than 10 hours – breaching the three-hour limit. Mrs Smith now fears other shoppers could face similar fines and may be frightened into paying the £35 charge – which doubles after 28 days if not settled
She went on to voice her disappointment in Tesco and how they handled the situation, saying: ‘I am deeply disappointed in Tesco – I am not going to risk being their customer again.
‘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.’
The 47-year-old continued to say that she put a lot of time and effort into resolving the situation despite the fact that she ‘did not do anything wrong.’
She continued: ‘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.’
Horizon Parking has been contacted by MailOnline for a further comment.
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