A shopper said they have been ‘put off’ shopping at Aldi after receiving a £70 fine for a 45-minute parking session.

A shopper who lives in High Wycombe but wanted to remain anonymous said the parking system introduced by the Aldi store on Baker Street has ‘put them off’ from shopping at the supermarket chain.

They said they were aware of the new measures rolled out in some Aldi stores around the UK earlier this year implementing a new parking system whereby customers are required to enter their car registration after completing their shops, but had become frustrated after receiving a £70 parking charge despite abiding by the process.  

“The last two times I have been in, the ANPR cameras haven’t recognised my car on entry, so I’ve had to manually type in the details of my registration with the help of staff members.

“But a few weeks after my most recent visit, I got a warning letter and then a fine in the post issuing a penalty of £70 for staying there for a total of 47 minutes!

“I phoned Aldi to explain what had happened, and they cancelled the charge. But I can’t be the only person that it’s happened to, and it is putting me off from shopping there.”

They said they understood the reasoning behind the new parking scheme, which is operated by the company Parkingeye and was designed to discourage non-supermarket shoppers encroaching on the parking space, but believe there are issues with the system that need to be addressed – along with the implementation of clearer signage informing customers of the measures.

READ MORE: Wilko: Shoppers react as closure of High Wycombe store looms

“The principle of it is fine – the Aldi on Baker Street was being abused before because it’s close to the town centre, but other people have told me they had to contact Aldi after receiving £70 fines too because they didn’t know about the parking system.”

Commenting in the High Wycombe Facebook group, others shared their experiences of receiving penalty notices from the supermarket, with Alex Adkins writing: “I clocked the notices when they first introduced the system but still forget. The system isn’t customer friendly – I wonder how many customers won’t shop there now because of it.”

Many praised the store’s finance team for operating a speedy repeal process but expressed frustration at being charged for parking on an intermittent basis and missing the signage.

Aldi denied that there have been any reports of technical issues with the Parking Eye system and said its supplier confirmed the system is working correctly.

Vehicles are recognised by ANPR cameras upon entering the car park and customers are able to enter their vehicle registration details via signage in parking areas and in-store to qualify for 1.5 hours of free parking.

Shoppers issued with PCNs are encouraged by the store to get in touch to repeal the notice if they believe it has been issued incorrectly and they have proof of purchase.