Atomic Systems

Our “near the town centre” Sainsbury’s has recently been expensively extended and modernised. This has reduced the size of the car parking area,.
The free car parking time has been reduced from a generous 3 hours to 2 hours maximum and the parking bays have been newly lined out, each with a prominent number so that you can remember where you left your car. In the middle of each bay is a sensor, actuated when the car is above it.
If your car has not moved away after 2 hours the sensor alerts a staff member who comes out and fixes a £60 fixed penalty notice to your car!.

Tony

Seems quite fair really - being near the town centre it is likely that people were using it for non Sainsbury's business which isn't fair on other customers. I've never spent more than 30 minutes in a supermarket and can't see anyone needing the full 2 hours. While the immediate penalty seems a bit draconian, it does at least seem fairer than someone walking around the car park and missing certain cars by virtue of where they are parked!

Agreed - this sounds like the way forward.

I never spend much more than 30 minutes in a supermarket - the only time we're ever in there any longer is if we've stopped in the coffee shop for whatever reason.

Lots of "near the town" supermarket car-parks are abused by people not using the supermarket & taking advantage of the free parking. I seem to recall Safeway (I think) operated a "ticket" method in the old days whereby if you used the supermarket & produced your receipt you had free parking - otherwise you had to pay (more than the "proper" town centre car parks).

One of the lesser known supermarket chains near to where I work have a different approach (again a town centre site). They operate a pay and display car park scheme. It costs 40p for 1 hour, and 80p for 2 hours (max), and you get 2 tickets from the machine. 1 to put on your car dashboard, and the other acts as a voucher giving you a full refund at the checkout. (assuming that you buy something, that is! )
I think this is both fair and reasonable.

....Unlike Hospital car parking (blood starts to boil, so I'll stop there!)

Similar thing in the Tesco near Lincoln where we were on holiday this year Terry. Maximum stay 90 minutes (it was a small store) and you could get the parking refunded if you spent more than £5 excluding cigarettes.

terrycunliffe wrote:One of the lesser known supermarket chains near to where I work have a different approach (again a town centre site). They operate a pay and display car park scheme. It costs 40p for 1 hour, and 80p for 2 hours (max), and you get 2 tickets from the machine. 1 to put on your car dashboard, and the other acts as a voucher giving you a full refund at the checkout. (assuming that you buy something, that is! )
I think this is both fair and reasonable.

....Unlike Hospital car parking (blood starts to boil, so I'll stop there!)

I agree With you on the Hospital Car Parking it just blocks up roads on the hospital site so you can get away with paying I know because I work at my local Hospital. By the way i have to pay £16 a month to park myself as staff . even if i`m on holiday or when on the sick. last september i was diagnosed with a DVT in the calf and was off work for 3 weeks while the warfarin dose was sorted and they still took the money then
steve

Asda Wolverhampton operates a £1 refundable charge between 6am and 6pm for two hours except on match days because it's 200yds from the Wolves ground.

I've often seen people park there obviously going to the match.