My daughter when we received bad service from PANDORA!

My daughter when we received bad service from PANDORA!
This picture was sent to PANDORA! to highlight the grief they had caused - see the PANDORA! complaint below

Wednesday 27 April 2016

A Lidl Less Conversation

Ahoy hoy!

I'll begin with this:


I successfully got Athena ANPR Ltd (acting on behalf of Lidl) to cancel a parking charge they made against me by sending silly emails and hand drawn pictures of stick men. Heck, you may even want to try it yourself. It's a lot of fun...

Please read on:



I love Lidl. I really do. I feel like I'm shopping in Spain whenever I go there. Except it's a German company, I'm in the UK, and it's pissing down with rain outside.

Anyway - a few months back, my local Lidl in Yate, near Bristol, installed cameras in it's car park and put up signs offering free parking of 90 minutes to Lidl customers and WARNINGS of parking charges of £90 being incurred if you don't shop there. I don't believe it is legally enforceable. 

To cut a long story short, what really moved me to make this complaint is that a couple of months ago I was waiting in the queue at Lidl and saw an old man of about 80 years, looking quite frightened and pleading with the Lidl manager about this letter he'd receive demanding £90 from him. The old man was insisting that he only EVER parked in the Lidl car park if he was actually shopping at the store.

I saw what was going on and intervened. I advised the old man not to pay the parking charge. Sadly, he ignored my advice and paid the fine. I was incensed that this vulnerable pensioner had been taken advantage of.

So the next time I shopped at Lidl, I parked outside the store and then lied at the checkout when they asked if I had used their car park. About a week later I received a letter from Athena ANPR Ltd acting on behalf of Lidl. 

Here is the letter:




As you can see, the letter looks very official and is clearly meant to intimidate people (like the poor old man in the store) into paying - I mean, a big reputable company like Lidl wouldn't try and extort money deceptively would they?

The following email chain is word for word genuinely what happened betwixt myself and them. 

Try it yourself - shop at Lidl, refuse to give your car details, but keep the receipt and take a photo in case you lose it - if it all goes wrong, you can still use the receipt as proof of purchase. Have fun!


__________________________________________________

This is my first email to the Appeals section at Athena ANPR Ltd:

From: Steve Crowley 
Sent: 10 April 2016 16:29
To: appeals
Subject: Parking Charge Notice Number XXXXXXXXX

Dear Sirs

I write in reference to the above Civil Parking Charge Notice.

Please note the following points:

1. I do not believe I am liable to pay this fine. Please advise on what basis you believe I am liable to pay the charge. i.e. What is the charge actually for? Is it a fine? Is it legally enforceable? Is it for Lidl’s pecuniary losses arising from the fact I was parked in their car park?

2. I believe I had shopped at Lidl on the date of the alleged incident, during the times that my vehicle is alleged to have stayed at the car park. I believe that I bought among other things, a High School Musical magazine, and some toilet roll. And for the record, it’s not what you think - my daughter likes High School Musical, hence the magazine, and all members of my family use toilet roll. Except my son. He uses his sister’s toothbrush.

I look forward to you addressing the above points and receiving confirmation that the Parking Charge has been withdrawn.

Kind regards.



______________________________________________

Some 3 weeks later, Athena ANPR Ltd replied with this:

--- appeals wrote ----

Dear Mr Crowley,

Thank you for your correspondence in regards to the above parking charge

We are contracted by the owner of the land to manage the site at which the parking event occurred and the charge was accrued.

Lidl customers are allowed a free parking time of 90 minutes provided vehicle registration numbers are tapped into a touch screen computer at the till. If these details are not entered or provided then a parking charge notice is generated.



Having checked our records your registration number was not on the list of shoppers for the day in question.

In order for us to further review your appeal we would firstly like to request if you have any proof of shopping for the day or for other dates in the form of a receipt or bank statement.

In closing we would like to thank you for contacting our customer service department and hope we can deal with this matter as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Kind Regards

For and on behalf of the Customer Service Team
Athena ANPR Ltd


_______________________________________________

I then upped the ante and replied with this little chestnut, including hand drawn picture:

From: Steve Crowley
Sent: 19 April 2016 12:13
To: appeals
Subject: RE: Parking Charge Notice Number XXXXXXXXXX

Many thanks for your email.
I am sure I have a receipt somewhere but cannot currently lay my hands on it.
I also note that you did not specifically respond to item 1. in my previous email. Please clarify on what basis the fine is being imposed.
Furthermore, you state that customers at Lidl may park for "90 minutes provided vehicle registration numbers are tapped into a touch screen computer at the till."
I can only assume from your statement that the Lidl member of staff erred on this occasion and did not ask for or register correctly, my vehicle details. Am I still liable for the charge in this instance?
Lastly, whilst I cannot at this time, locate a receipt as proof of purchase, please find attached a picture that clearly proves I was shopping at Lidl at the time and date of the alleged offence. I trust you will now withdraw the fine.
Kindest regards.


___________________________________________________
Today, I got this reply from Athena ANPR Ltd:
--- appeals wrote ----

Dear Mr Crowley,

Thank you for your email in regards to the above parking charge.
We can confirm that the above parking charge has been cancelled.

Kind Regards
For and on behalf of the Customer Service Team
Athena ANPR LTD

_________________________________________________

Result! 

What I didn't tell them was that I have kept the receipt all along (just in case I was wrong and these fines are legally enforceable!). So I replied with this final email (you'll note I actually did buy a High School Musical Magazine and some toilet roll - it wasn't made up just for comedy effect) - I just wanted to rub it in that I had been wasting their time all along...

From: Steve Crowley
Sent: 19 April 2016 12:13
To: appeals
Subject: RE: Parking Charge Notice Number XXXXXXXXXX
Many thanks for your email. I am pleased you have cancelled the fine. I have now located the receipt showing that I had indeed shopped at the date and time of the alleged offence. What are the chances of me finding it after all this time???


Kindest regards

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