A WOMAN has accused Tesco of “driving customers away” after she was slapped with a £40 parking fine thanks to an unusual rule change.
Janette Carr spent £214.27 at the supermarket’s branch in Ipswich, Suffolk, only to find her bill bumped up as she left.
A visit to the Tesco Extra in the town centre left Ms Carr with a sour taste in her mouth after she was hit with the charge, even though she paid for a permit.
She soon discovered she had fallen foul of an unusual rule designed to reduce overcrowding in the car park at peak shopping times.
Customers at the branch are only allowed to stay for a maximum of one hour between 8pm and when the store closes at 11pm.
Ms Carr claimed that she hadn’t realised the restriction was in place as, while it was written on three different boards, it was buried “amongst a bunch of other points”.
She told the Ipswich Star: “Literally no one was aware of this rule being changed.
“They are penalising working people by putting this rule in, and this will drive customers away.
“I for one am not coming back to this Tesco anymore.”
The fuming driver claimed that she appealed the fine and was given the email address of the branch manager, but received no response.
She allegedly ended up having to pay the fine before discovering the result of her appeal or risk the penalty rising to £70.
However, Tesco insists that the rules were clearly advertised and that the fine should stand.
A spokesperson told the outlet: “The introduction of these restrictions was advertised at the store for several weeks before they came into force and signage at both the entrance to the car park and within the car park itself clearly displays the time limits.”
SunMotors has contacted Tesco for further comment.
It comes after we revealed how you can avoid paying a £100 fine in private car parks thanks to a little-known loophole.
Meanwhile, a major parking operator has offered Brits free parking all day today due to a very special reason.
