Asda bosses promise to look again at ‘unfair’ fine

PEACE is breaking out in a dispute involving parking spaces at a top South Devon superstore.

Bosses at Asda, in Newton Abbot, say they will now paint hatched lines on parts of the car park after customers were ticketed for leaving their vehicles in areas they mistakenly thought were parking spaces.

The parking enforcement at the car park is looked after by Town and City Parking Ltd.

David Buckland, 66, from Paignton is refusing to pay his fine after he accidently parked in one of the areas, saying he will go to court.

He had paid £3 to use the facilities and was in store doing his shopping but was given a parking ticket because car park bosses say the area he parked in was not an allocated space.

Asda has now said it will look into canceling his ticket.

Mr Buckland believes other people may have been caught by wardens for parking in the areas at the end of parking rows. He said there are several of these areas in the car park and there is no indication you will be fined £60 for parking in them.

He said: “It is a box, there is no logic to getting a fine for parking in it. There are about eight of nine of the spaces around the car park.”

Asda bosses said the areas are boxed off and are there to allow space for the flow of traffic around the car park.

They said they haven’t had any other customer complaints about tickets being issued for parking in the boxes but, after being contacted by the Herald Express, said the areas would have hatched lines painted in them.

An Asda spokeswoman said: “We are going to get those spaces cross-hatched as soon as possible. In the meantime we are going to ask the car parking company not to ticket people parked in that space. They will advise that it is not a legal space but they will not ticket them.”

She said they will speak with the car parking company to see if they can get Mr Buckland’s parking ticket revoked.

Asda said any new people say they have been fined for parking in one of the areas will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Mr Buckland has received a bailiffs letters because of his unpaid fine but said he is happy to let the matter go to court, saying it the principle of the issue.

“I paid my £3, why should I be fined for parking in the car park? It is outrageous.

“It is not about the money. If I get any compensation it will all go straight to Rowcroft. It is the principle. Not many people have the courage to speak up and refuse to pay.”