Concerns grow over parking fines at Horsham supermarket

Customers at Sainsbury’s in Worthing Road say they are receiving unwarranted fines despite abiding by the parking ‘rules.’

Shoppers are allowed to park for free for 20 minutes, and for up to two hours if they spend £10 or more in the store. They need to scan their till receipt at machines in the car park on leaving.

But many have now taken to social media complaining that they have received fines despite parking for less than two hours and spending more than £10 on their shopping.

A number have said they have their receipts showing they were there for less than two hours but still face having to pay a fine. One shopper said: “They really need to sort this situation out. It’s getting silly.” Another urged: “Simply shop elsewhere until they realise people are fed up with it.”

And another said: “I’m just another ‘victim’ of Sainsbury’s car park sending me a fine. I ALWAYS scan my receipt at the machines outside. Unfortunately we don’t get receipts anymore. I have, however, got a copy of my credit card payment on that day. Looks like we have to keep all of our Sainsbury’s receipts for about a month or so. This system does not work.”

Some shoppers who have received fines say they have complained in-store and the fines have been quashed.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said, “To help make sure our customers can find a parking space when they need one, we have a voucher validation system at our Horsham store, which is detailed on signs throughout the car park.

"Customer feedback is important to us and if on the rare occasion a customer believes they have incorrectly received a fine, our parking operator will review these appeals to put them right.”