Supermarket Parking Charges: Your Rights and How to Fight

• Overstaying the posted time limit (commonly 90 minutes or 2 hours)
• ANPR camera recording entry but failing to record exit, creating a phantom overstay
• Visiting multiple stores in a retail park and exceeding the combined time limit
• Returning to the car park multiple times in one day
• Not seeing or understanding the signage about time limits
• Parking beyond the supermarket's designated area without realising

• ParkingEye (Aldi, Lidl, and others)
• Euro Car Parks
• Smart Parking
• Britannia Parking
• Horizon Parking

See our parking company guides for detailed information on appealing to specific operators.

• The time limit was not clearly displayed or was obscured
• ANPR data is unreliable -- cameras may have missed your exit and re-entry
• You were a genuine customer using the car park for its intended purpose
• The time limit is unreasonably short for the services available
• The charge is disproportionate to any actual loss suffered by the landowner
• The supermarket (landowner) does not support charges against genuine customers

As a customer of the supermarket, you have a legitimate reason to use the car park. The car park exists to serve customers, and the Beavis decision -- which upheld charges in a similar retail context -- was specific to its facts. If signage was unclear, if the time limit was unreasonable, or if the supermarket does not support the charges, you have strong grounds to challenge.

1. 1.Keep your supermarket receipt as proof you were a genuine customer
2. 2.Note the time on your receipt and compare with the alleged entry/exit times
3. 3.Take photos of all signage, particularly if time limits are not clear
4. 4.Check whether the supermarket has a policy on cancelling charges for customers
5. 5.Contact the supermarket's head office or customer service to ask for support
6. 6.If the ANPR times seem wrong, challenge the accuracy of the evidence