Are Lidl’s Car Parking Fines Enforceable?

Have you got a private parking fine from Lidl and are wondering what to do next? This is the right place for you. Every month, more than 130,000 people use our website looking for guidance on parking fines and tickets. 

This article will help you understand:

•  The rules of parking at Lidl.
•  If you need to pay Lidl parking fines.
•  How you can appeal a parking fine from Lidl.
•  Differences between Parking Charge Notices and Penalty Charge Notices.
•  Tips on how to avoid parking fines.

We know it can be very upsetting to get a private parking fine, but don’t worry; you’re not alone. In fact, over 19,000 parking fines are issued each day in the UK¹.

We have lots of advice and real examples that will help you decide what to do about your Lidl parking fine.

Let’s get started!

Can you be fined for parking at Lidl?

You can receive a Lidl parking fine if:

• You use the car park but don’t shop at Lidl, or
• You park for longer than the duration allowed, even if you’re a Lidl customer

These parking fines are formally known as Parking Charge Notices. You’d get a parking ticket for not following Lidl parking Terms and Conditions.

» TAKE ACTION NOW: Get legal support from JustAnswer

Lidl Parking Charge Notices explained

Lidl doesn’t issue parking tickets themselves. They outsource the management of their car parks to specialist car park management companies².

These car park operators offer a range of services to businesses with a car park, and one of them is private car park enforcement.

The company might issue Parking Charge Notices to motorists by leaving the ticket on their windshield – if the car park is manned. But it’s more likely that they will install specialist CCTV cameras in the car park which track car number plates. 

If they notice a vehicle parked in Lidl for too long, they will ask the DVLA³ for the registered vehicle keeper’s address and send the Parking Charge Notice in the post.

We were recently featured in The Sun about parking tickets, where we encouraged everyone to check whether the ticket was issued by a member of a trade association. If they aren’t, then they probably can’t get your details from the DVLA to pursue you.⁴

The cost of a Lidl parking fine was usually around £100. But new rules are coming into force that only allows private parking firms to fine people up to £50 in most cases.

Additionally, the car park operator must offer a discount of at least 40% if the driver pays within 14 days. 

So, are the fines enforceable?

Yes, Lidl parking fines can be enforced, but only if the car park operator takes you to court and wins the case.

Motorists first a court summons for unpaid parking fines when they go unpaid.

Not all car park operators take everyone to court, so you’ll never know for certain whether you will have to pay the invoice. 

Ignoring the parking ticket could potentially get you off the hook. But this doesn’t work as much as what you might believe after reading online stories.

Even when the company is chasing you for a small amount.

You can see below how Parking Eye regularly contact the court to chase even small fines.

For this reason, you might want to pay the reduced fine within 14 days and know for certain you’ll avoid court action. 

Source: Moneysavingexpert

Or, you could appeal the Lidl Parking Charge Notice but don’t ignore it.

How to appeal the parking fine

You must appeal your Lidl parking fine to the car park operator that issued it.

Lidl is known to use the services of different car park management companies, so only appeal to the company that sent you the PCN. 

The appeal should be in writing and state the reason you think the ticket should be cancelled. You might need to back this up with evidence. For example, Lidl might state you never shopped in their store so you used the car park wrongfully. But if you did shop at Lidl, you could use the receipt as evidence. 

Also, make sure you follow Lidl’s parking fine dispute process as set out by the operator.

Appeal Process Steps

We’ve put together this table to help you better understand the appeal process. If you’d like to learn more about the steps involved, please read our detailed guide.

Process:	Steps you should take:
When you receive the ticket…	You should gather as much evidence as you can to support your appeal claim and prove that the ticket was unfairly issued.
If you were given the ticket in person/attached to your car…	You must make an informal appeal (sent to the local authority/council that issued the PCN) within 14 days. This should be a letter with the evidence proving why the ticket was incorrectly given.
If it was posted to you…	You will be given 21 days to submit an informal appeal (from the day you received the letter). Your informal appeal should be a letter with the evidence proving why the ticket was incorrectly given.
If the informal appeal is rejected…	You will receive a Notice to Owner and will have 28 days to respond to this with a formal appeal. You can conduct the formal appeal online or via paper form. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal can send you one of these forms.
If the formal appeal is rejected…	You will receive a Notice of Rejection. From here, you are free to challenge the council’s verdict at an independent tribunal.
If the independent tribunal disagrees with your appeal…	You should pay the ticket within 28 days of the tribunal rejecting your appeal. If you don’t, the fine will be increased by 50%. If you don’t have the money to pay the fine, you should contact Citizens Advice or another debt charity.

Do they give you a grace period?

Private car park operators must now give drivers a grace period of ten minutes.

These ten minutes are used to get to your car and exit the car park. Therefore, Lidl must give you ten minutes grace before a ticket is issued. If you were sent a Parking Charge Notice because you stayed over the time limit by 5 minutes, you could appeal based on the grace period rule.

References

1. Sky News — Parking Tickets Statistics
2. BPA Approved Operators
3. GOV.UK – Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency
4. The Sun – Check Your Parking Ticket