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    Pensioners stunned by £50 fine after Sainsbury’s car park rules change

    8 hours ago

    An elderly couple were left frustrated after being slapped with a hefty £50 charge for stopping in a supermarket car park. Jenny, 80, said her 82-year-old parked in the Sainsbury’s store in Worthing Road, Horsham, on January 22. However, they were stunned when they received a £50 bill in the post two weeks later, after realising they had forgotten one crucial detail. Jenny and her husband should have scanned their parking ticket to validate it for two hours of free parking. After forgetting to do this, the penalty charge was awarded, but the couple admit to being blindsided by the recent change and explained the rule needed to be made “more publicly known.”   Speaking to The Argus, Jenny’s husband explained: “You’re supposed to get the receipt verified. The signage is small print. No one at Sainsbury’s told me or asked me if I wanted my car parking validated." Jenny stressed the penalty was “grossly unfair” and warned that other shoppers are likely to be at risk of breaking the same rule.  She added: “It’s so immoral what they’re doing. We’re going to have to pay the fine because it means we’ll have a peaceful week. We won’t be hounded or worried by the fine. He was only there an hour. They’re catching people out.” In a statement, Sainsbury's explained their validation system had been in place for over a year and a half and was first installed at the Horsham store back in June 2024. However, the supermarket chain explained that they still intended to refund the couple the total bill.  A statement read: “To help make spaces more readily available for customers when they need one, our Horsham store operates a voucher validation system, which has been in place since June 2024 and is clearly detailed on signs throughout the car park. "On this occasion, as a gesture of goodwill we will refund the parking charge notice for this customer." Verified parking meters are installed at several Sainsbury’s stores and are designed to make parking much easier. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) detects cars as they enter the store, with motorists issued no charge for stays of under 60 minutes.  If the customer stays longer, fees are accrued, but those spending more than £10 can validate a discount voucher given out at the checkout.  This allows road users to access the store for up to two hours completely free of charge. Road users who forget to validate the voucher can even do this online up to 24 hours after leaving the shop. Express.co.uk has contacted Sainsbury’s for comment.
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