“Mess and rip-off”
Blitz-Knöllchen on Lidl parking lot: For 68 seconds, Düsseldorfer pays just under 25 euros fine
Tickets on the Lidl parking lot: A customer in Düsseldorf had to pay just under 25 euros for a few seconds (symbol image).
© FrankHoemann / SVEN SIMON // Picture Alliance
A Lidl customer stood in the discounter’s parking lot for exactly 68 seconds too long. He was presented with a hefty bill for this: almost 25 euros are due. Lidl has since turned in.
Free parking at supermarkets and discounters in cities is long gone. If you park your vehicle in the customer parking lot for too long, you pay a fine. The fact that it is due for a few seconds made a Lidl customer from Düsseldorf really angry.
Like the “Rheinische post“reported that Wolfgang E. had parked his car at Lidl and went shopping. However, he exceeded the permitted maximum parking time. He is now supposed to pay a fine for this.” After exactly 68 seconds, the ticket was issued to me. That’s a mess and rip-off for me, “says E. about the” RP “.
Parking management as a business model
The parking lot itself is not controlled by Lidl employees; the company has commissioned Safe Place to do this. Safe Place is active throughout Germany and takes on parking space management for other companies. Their business model is easy to explain: if you stand in the parking lot for too long, you have to pay. “In this way, we ensure that the parking space, which is very limited in many places, is available to the customers of the respective owners and is not permanently blocked by third-party parkers. The maximum parking time in the parking spaces is also limited,” says Managing Director André Westhoff.RP“For this, the company even uses sensors that precisely monitor how long a car is parked on the parking lot.
The parking lot of the Lidl store in Düsseldorf-Flingern has just such sensors. Customers are allowed to park there for a total of 60 minutes, after which a contractual penalty of EUR 24.95 is due. “If the maximum parking time is exceeded, the external service provider is automatically informed via the system,” said a Lidl spokesman for “RP”.
The 73-year-old Knöllchen-Parker Wolfgang E. is annoyed not only about the fine, but also about the threat that if the fine is not paid, he will face further costs within 14 days. That is a necessity, according to E.
The consumer center in North Rhine-Westphalia shares his assessment. “I consider this threat (…) to be unlawful and, in connection with the threat of payment of increased costs, also for coercion”, the NRW consumer advocates answer “RP” in writing.
E. has contacted Lidl and Safe Place several times, but has also paid the 24.95 euros. Lidl is now giving in, apparently the hype about the “68-second ticket” is a bit too much for the discounter. In a letter to E. it says: “We have had your request checked by our department. (…) We would of course like to reimburse you for the costs.” A 25 euro shopping voucher was enclosed with the letter.
