How to Appeal a Supermarket Parking Charge
Supermarket car parks are mostly free-but-time-limited and enforced by ANPR cameras run by a contractor — not by the supermarket itself. That split is your opportunity: the store wants your weekly shop, not a £70 dispute, and the operator answers to the store.
These are private parking charges governed by contract law and the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 — not fines.
Why so many supermarket charges are wrong
- ▸The double-visit error — the single most common ANPR failure: morning top-up shop plus evening visit becomes one 'nine-hour stay'. Two receipts or card transactions end the matter.
- ▸Genuine customers over the limit — a big shop, the in-store café, pharmacy queues: receipts evidencing real custom support cancellation and mitigation.
- ▸Grace periods — the BPA code requires 10 minutes minimum beyond the permitted stay.
- ▸Trolley-park and parent-bay disputes — enforcement photos often don't show what they claim; ask for them.
- ▸POFA timing — ANPR notices must reach the keeper within 14 days for keeper liability.
Use the store as well as the operator
Appeal to the operator in writing within 28 days with your receipts attached. In parallel, contact the store's customer services with the same evidence — store managers can and do instruct their parking contractor to cancel charges issued to genuine customers. The combination resolves most supermarket charges at first stage.
If the operator still rejects it, the rejection letter contains your free independent appeal route (POPLA for BPA members) with a 28-day window.
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Start my appealFrequently asked
I shopped there but lost the receipt
Card and banking app statements showing the transaction at that store carry the same weight. Loyalty-card history works too — ask customer services to pull it.
More guides
This guide is general information about UK parking appeal processes, not legal advice. Operator trade-body memberships and appeal routes change — always follow the route and deadline named on your own notice and rejection letter.