A SUPERMARKET has reimbursed a customer after she was handed a £90 parking fine, despite not having issued the levy in the first place.
Netto made the goodwill gesture to Sam McLeod after she overstayed the maximum one hour at the adjoining car park in Market Weighton by 11 minutes.
The mother-of-three is a regular at the store on High Street and had spent more than £100 on groce
ries that day.
Although the fine was issued by Highview Parking Ltd, which owns the car park, Netto has said they would pay the fine on her behalf.
Charles Kay, managing director for Netto in the UK, said: “As previously reported in the Pocklington Post, we do not own the car park behind our Market Weighton store.
“We have had a number of issues with this particular car park over recent months and when we heard about Sam’s predicament, we contacted Highview Parking Ltd to discuss the matter directly. In the meantime, as a very valued Netto customer, we have written to Sam and sent her a cheque to cover the cost of the fine.”
The Holme-on-Spalding Moor resident said: “It came out of the blue and I was really surprised but I was pleased they did, they were very nice about it.
“There’s been quite a few local people who had seen the article and have come up to me to say they had stopped going there because of the parking.
“I have vowed to spend the money in local shops in Market Weighton.”
Mrs McLeod was shocked after receiving a letter several days after her visit to the shop. Her vehicle was captured by CCTV.
After contacting the company to tell them she was unable to pay the initial £75 fine until her next pay day, she was told she would have to pay an extra £15 surcharge.
Although there were signs in the car park outlining the one-hour limit, Mrs McLeod felt many people were still unaware that the car park was not owned by Netto.
Since the incident was reported, a number of readers have contacted the Post to say they have also fallen victims and would back a campaign for longer stays in the town centre car park.
Market Weighton Town Council spoke with Highview Parking Ltd which has recently agreed to extend the maximum stay from one hour to 90 minutes.
Despite the negotiation, business owners will continue to push for improved parking in the town.
They feel it continues to deter shoppers and is driving them to Tesco where they can park free for hours.
A meeting is to be held this evening at Bradley’s Cafe at 7pm to discuss the matter.
Anyone is welcome to attend.
