TESCO shoppers have been left raging after finding out about a major change to car parking rules.
Two branches have implemented restrictions on how long customers can park their vehicles while filling up baskets.
One Tesco Extra in Ryde on the Isle of Wight has now put a new policy in place restricting drivers to a maximum three hour stay when there were no restrictions before.
Between 8pm and 12am the maximum stay is now one hour and 30 minutes between 12am and 6am.
Another store in Shaftesbury, Dorset, has reduced the maximum stay for shoppers leaving their vehicles in the car park between 10pm and midnight to one hour and 15 minutes from midnight to 6am.
The Sun understands the new parking restrictions were put in place at the Ryde store this month and at the Shaftesbury Superstore in September.
The move to restrict how long customers can park their vehicles at night has been branded “selfish”, with others claiming it discriminates against shoppers working during the day.
Commenting on the changes at the Ryde store, one shopper said on Facebook: “That’s clearly not been thought about, what happens with shoppers who need longer in the evening or is it going to be a supermarket sweep job and just grab it all while knocking things down and hope for the best?”
Another said: “Oh, great, so those that work in the day, get just one hour to dash round the store, then get in a massive queue at a till because they only have four tills open at one time.
“Discriminate against working customers.”
Commenting on the changes at the Shaftesbury store, one shopper said: “What…….They really are a bloody selfish store. I have never had any problems with parking at any time.
“And sometimes it takes longer than hour to get round the store.”
Another added: “With Christmas approaching it’s going to frustrate people wanting to do late night shopping or early hrs as not enough time allowed!”
Tesco said it doesn’t have parking limits in place at all stores, but uses “local usage” information to put measures in place where needed.
The supermarket also said parking restrictions are managed on a location-by-location basis and any changes are reviewed based on customer feedback.
A spokesperson added: “It is important to us that all our customers can find a space when they visit our stores and, where we have parking limits in place, this is to allow us to better manage spaces, and to deter anti-social behaviour in the car park at night, especially outside of opening hours.”
Customers can spend up to two hours in Sainsbury’s car parks for free.
However, some do charge you even for a quick stay, like the Superstore branch on Clapham Common.
Aldi has a limit on how long shoppers can use its car parks before being charged but this varies from store to store.
The retailer says signs are put up at each branch telling you how long you can stay for free and how much it costs beyond this point.
The amount of time you can spend in a Morrisons car park varies from branch to branch with signs in each one telling you how long you can stay for free before you are charged.
Some let you stay overnight for free, like its Aldershot branch where you are not charged for any parking between 5pm and 9am.
The latest change from Tesco is not the first in recent months to spark backlash in recent months.
Earlier this year, the UK’s biggest supermarket started charging shoppers 10p if they wanted to keep clothes hangers, as exclusively revealed by The Sun.
Tesco said it was trialling the new policy in a handful of stores in a bid to reduce plastic waste.
But one angry shopper posted on Facebook: “Never in my life have I heard so much rubbish, Tesco don’t only charge for plastic bags but now for hangers, 10p a hanger. What is the world today?
“I didn’t even want the hanger but was just in shock.”
In August, the supermarket revealed it had gone cashless at 40 of its cafes across the UK.
Shoppers have since had to order their food and drinks on a digital self-service screen and pay by card.
Martin Quinn, of Campaign for Cash told The Telegraph: “Many of the customers will be elderly or retirees who want to order in person, not press a computer screen. This is a mad decision.”
TESCO'S Clubcard scheme allows shoppers to earn points as they shop.
These points can then be turned into vouchers for money off food at the supermarket, or discounts at other places like restaurants and days out.
Each time you spend £1 in-store and online, you get one point when you scan your Clubcard.
Drivers using the loyalty card get one point for every two litres spent on fuel.
One point equals 1p, so 150 points gets you a £1.50 money-off voucher, for example.
You can double their worth when you swap them for discounts with “reward partners”.
For example, £12 worth of vouchers can be swapped for a £24 three-month subscription to Disney+.
Or you can swap 50p worth of points for £1 to spend at Hungry Horse pubs.
Where you can spend them changes regularly, and you can check on the Tesco website what’s available now.
Tesco shoppers can also get Clubcard prices when they have the loyalty card.
The discounted items change regularly and without a Clubcard you’ll pay a higher price.
These Clubcard prices are usually labelled on shelves, along with the non-member price.
But it’s worth noting that just because it’s discounted doesn’t necessarily make it the cheapest around, and you should compare prices to find the best deal.
You can sign up to get a Tesco Clubcard in store or online via the Tesco website.
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