A WOMAN has expressed her concern that she was wrongfully issued a fine for parking in a supermarket in Launceston.

But Tesco apologised for the ‘glitch’ and urges anybody that wrongfully receives a fine to contact the supermarket’s parking helpline immediately.

Janet Collins, who lives in Torrington, told the Post she regularly visits Launceston’s Tesco store when she visits her daughter, who lives in the town. She said she usually buys some shopping for her daughter, and after visiting her daughter, goes back to Tesco’s filling station to buy fuel before returning to Torrington, or sometimes uses the supermarket again to purchase shopping for herself.

She was surprised after a recent visit that she received a fine from Highview Parking Ltd, a company employed by Tesco.

A letter to Mrs Collins explained that she had received a parking charge notice because in June her vehicle had ‘overstayed the maximum time’. The fine was £70, payable within 28 days, or a reduced sum of £40 if paid within 14 days. The company said if the fine was not paid within 28 days an ‘initial debt recovery charge of £40’ would be incurred.

Cameras operating at the entrance to the car park of the supermarket captured her car entering the car park in the morning, and leaving around seven hours later — but Mrs Collins said she had visited the supermarket for around 20 minutes in the morning, before leaving, and returned later on to fill up her car with fuel.

She said she called the helpline number, and was kept waiting in a queue for around 20 minutes, but that the situation was resolved and she did not have to pay the fine.

But she expressed her concern that ‘no reassurance could be given that I will not be put through this again and again’. She expressed particular concern that an elderly or vulnerable person wrongly receiving such a fine might pay it on receiving the letter, rather than going through an appeals process as she did.

Mrs Collins told the Post: “I can understand they want to deter people from all-day parking. But other supermarkets have a warden. I wouldn’t object if they have a warden.

“Do they want to encourage people to purchase from their stores or not?”

A spokesperson for Tesco said: “We employ an Automatic Number Plate Recognition system which is very reliable, supports car park safety and accurately monitors the vehicular movements of customers. However, on this occasion it appears as though there may have been a small glitch. Clearly, Mrs Collins should not have been charged for this duration of stay and we would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.

“We’re pleased that her claim has been settled quickly through our suppliers and would encourage anyone who has a query about their ticket to contact the Tesco parking helpline immediately.”