I was fined £70 for parking TOO EARLY at the supermarket
A CHARITY worker claims she "felt sick" after being slapped with a £70 parking ticket for leaving her car in an Asda car park before it opened.
Mrs Elliott left her vehicle outside Asda Bexleyheath, Kent at 9.56am on Sunday.
She knew the car park was only free when the store is open - believing it to open its doors at 10am.
But as the Asda begins Sunday business at 11am, Elliott was given a hefty private parking fine.
The 51-year-old Kent woman chose not to reveal her first name.
She told the : “I felt sick to my stomach when I saw the ticket.
“I’m absolutely appalled by this.
“It really is a scam, we’re just innocent people going shopping.”
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Mrs Elliott said her finances are particularly vulnerable at this time of year.
The charge notice she was sent in the mail explained that she had parked "too early".
After proving to car park operator Parkingeye's that she was a "genuine customer" of Asda, the punitive penalty charge was reversed.
A spokesperson for Parkingeye said: "Parking is only available whilst the store is open, which is from 11am on a Sunday.
“However, the parking charge notice was cancelled following an appeal after they provided evidence to confirm they were a genuine customer.
"If anyone has mitigating circumstances, we would encourage them to highlight this by appealing to Parkingeye.”
An Asda spokesperson told us: "Customers can park at our Bexleyheath store free of charge for up to three hours whilst the store is open, including on Sundays.
"There is clear signage across the car park and we would like to thank the majority of our customers who use the car park responsibly."
Private parking charge notices are not legally backed and can be internally appealed under the car park owner's rules.
Council-mandated penalty charge notices, however, are backed by law.
You can challenge a penalty charge notice by not paying and launching a formal appeal with the council.
Here are our top tips on how to appeal a council parking ticket are here.
We recently revealed that drivers win half of their parking fine appeals.
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Here's what to do if your ticket falls off the dashboard and you end up with a penalty charge.
Plus, what to do if you park you vehicle by a broken ticket machine.
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