Is there a surprise waiting behind the doormat? Check if you can avoid a penalty for not having a parking ticket

They used to be free in front of supermarkets and in theory they still are, as long as we take a parking ticket and put it behind the windshield. Sometimes, however, we forget about it and run straight to the store, and when we come back, we see a ticket under the windshield wiper. Is the penalty imposed legal? It turns out that not entirely.

Can a store give you a parking ticket? Some customers received incorrect payment requests

Parking spaces in front of supermarkets are private spaces, so the owner of the land has the right to charge parking fees. Retail chains introduced parking meters mainly to prevent spaces from being occupied by people who, for example, work in nearby companies. However, in 2021, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection received many complaints regarding fines at Aldi and Biedronka parking lots managed by TD System. Customers felt that the company did not respect complaints. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection took a closer look at the actions of the parking lot manager and it turned out that the customers were right. – We do not question the introduction of the requirement to collect a ticket in parking lots in front of stores, but the lack of fair and reliable treatment of consumers who filed a complaint and were able to prove that they collected a ticket – Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection stands behind its clients. The parking lot manager received a high financial penalty

The parking lot manager did not take into account the situation when the customer actually shopped in a given store and collected a ticket, but forgot to put it behind the glass. In such a situation, the shopping person received up to PLN 150. When the customer appealed against the fine, the company did not accept the complaint, which the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection considered an action violating the collective interests of consumers and imposed a financial penalty of PLN 150,000 on the manager. zloty. So let’s remember that to avoid problems, it is best to place the ticket behind the windshield, because sometimes tickets were given to people who put the ticket in another place, e.g. on the seat. However, if we forgot to put the ticket behind the window and we actually collected it, we have the full right to file a complaint and have the ticket canceled.