Northallerton woman hits out after £90 fine in Lidl car park

Lynn Tweddle of Northallerton in North Yorkshire has been left "incredibly stressed" after being hit with the fine from ParkingEye after charging her car at Lidl in the town.

Mrs Tweddle, who is a full-time carer for her husband, Harry and is unable to work, said she was charged £90 after going over the permitted time by 22 minutes.

However, she argued that she had pre-paid to use the car park's "rapid chargers," but due all of them being in use, she ended up going over her time. 

The Lidl car park in Northallerton. Photograph: Stuart Boulton/The Northern Echo (Image: STUART BOULTON)

Mrs Tweddle explained: "I had paid through the app to charge my car using Lidl's 50kW fast chargers, but when I arrived at the car park, there was already someone using the charger, so I had to wait for half an hour.

"I got a parking charge notice in the post about a week later, saying that I had overstayed by 22 minutes."

"I have to use the paid fast chargers in Lidl as they are the only ones in town - everything else is a slow, small, or overnight charger, including my charger at home.

"With my husband and mum both unwell, I am looking after everyone, and always have things to do."

Her husband, Harry has terminal cancer, and he has had to give up his job as a builder. She said she is feeling "really defeated" after receiving the fine. 

Lynn and Harry Tweddle at their home in Northallerton (Image: Lynn Tweddle)

Admitting that she has not lodged an appeal because of ongoing care for her husband, she said: "I haven't paid it because I can't afford it. 

"If they take me to court, let them. If they put me in jail, let them - at least I'll get a break."

Lynn and Harry have been struggling with the cost of living crisis, having had to move house as they were unable to afford rent and bills at their previous home

"People have told me to pay the fine and then complain, but I can't even scrape together £45 to pay the fine early."

The Lidl car park in Northallerton. Photograph: Stuart Boulton/The Northern Echo (Image: STUART BOULTON)

Their car, an electric Peugeot, was given to them through the Motability scheme, which provides cars for those with health conditions preventing mobility. 

Mrs Tweddle explains that an electric car wouldn't be their first choice, due to issues with long distances and was our only option, as all of the other cars had a 10-month waiting period.

In response, a spokesperson for Lidl said: "We always aim to provide a positive shopping experience for our valued customers and have carpark management systems in place where needed, to help ensure availability of parking spaces for our customers.

"Nevertheless, as much as we would want to, we cannot always guarantee a space at one of the charging points.

"To help ensure that customers are fully informed of the restrictions in place we have signage displayed prominently across the car park, and the Pod Point app features an additional prompt.

"In the extremely unfortunate event that a genuine customer believes they have wrongfully received a parking charge, we would encourage them to get in touch with Parkingeye directly via the appeals process so that charges can be investigated as swiftly as possible."

ParkingEye said: "The car park features 18 prominent and highly-visible signs throughout providing information on how to use the car park responsibly, including guidance on how all motorists using the car park have a 90-minute maximum stay period."