An Auckland woman landed a supermarket car parking fine that was almost half as much as she spent on groceries at the Pak’nSave where she was ticketed.
As a busy mum of teenage boys, her grocery shopping before the after-school pick-up is the only “peaceful me time” Rachel Gu gets.
“Taking 100 minutes to complete a substantial $210 grocery shop for a family of four is completely reasonable. I was not loitering, nor was I parked there to visit other businesses.
“As a mum, grocery shopping is the only peaceful ‘me time’ I get. I never want to rush.”
But the Beachlands mother-of-two’s one-hour-and-40-minute retreat into the aisles of Pak’nSave Papakura on Monday last week almost cost her much more than the $209.90 bill she received at the checkout, after she was fined $85 for staying too long in the carpark at the supermarket’s site at Takanini.
After the Herald made inquiries, the supermarket’s parking enforcement contractor Smart Compliance Management said it had waived the fine, while the supermarket confirmed the time customers could use the carpark had increased from 90 minutes to two hours as of Tuesday last week – a day after Gu was ticketed.
Gu earlier told the Herald she wasn’t initially sure how long was too long, as the Smart Compliance Management ticket sent to her didn’t say what the carpark time limit was.
“I’ve never seen any [warning] signs there. If there are, it’s not obvious ... as a loyal, weekly customer, I am extremely frustrated to have received [this].”
Smart Compliance Management told the Herald via its website’s contact portal messenger that it was contracted to manage the Pak’nSave Papakura carpark to “address ongoing misuse and ensure fair and equal access” for customers.
“A 90-minute maximum stay applies to prevent long-term or non-customer parking. The carpark has more than 50 clearly displayed signs advising customers of the 90-minute limit.”
Gu had submitted an appeal at 9pm on Monday – the day she told the Herald she received the ticket – and included proof of purchase from the supermarket.
“The appeal has now been reviewed by our compliance team, and the breach notice has been waived as Ms Gu was confirmed to be a genuine customer,” Smart Compliance Management said.
This fine waiver was part of the agreement the supermarket had with the parking compliance contractor when customers could verify they’d been in the store longer than the parking limit, Foodstuffs spokesman Stefan Herrick said.
“We’ve had customers doing large family shops or elderly customers doing their first shop after hospital stays. We want customers to be happy and take as much time as they need to do their shop.”
If someone was ticketed and felt it was unfair, they should follow the appeals process on the ticket – or even go into the supermarket and speak directly with staff, Herrick said.
Pak’nSave Papakura was a popular store, and the parking time limit ensured everyone had a space when needed and non-customers weren’t using spaces for long periods, he said.
Increasing the time limit to two hours, with a 10-minute grace period, recognised grocery shopping sometimes took longer than expected, Herrick said.
“If customers think they might need extra time ... they’re welcome to let the store team know, and we can make a note of it.”
Despite comments to the Herald referencing a 90-minute time limit, the parking compliance contractor was “definitely aware of the new time ... the store owner spoke to them just now”.
Gu, who found out late this morning her ticket had been waived, told the Herald she was pleased, although she still didn’t understand the need for time limits at a supermarket in the suburbs and not near a train station.
“No idea why they’ve got a limit anyway. It’s not central – it’s just Takanini.”
Gu isn’t the only grocery shopper to land in the crosshairs of supermarket parking enforcement contractors: Hawke’s Bay woman Renee Sciascia was ticketed $85 for spending two hours and 20 minutes in the Pak’nSave Hastings carpark on February 15.
Sciascia hadn’t noticed the 90-minute limit signs at the supermarket and was stunned to receive the ticket, which parking contractor Wilson Parking had since waived.
She liked to take her time while engaged in the fortnightly shop for her family of five, doing three laps to bargain-hunt and spending $400 the day she was ticketed.
“I just didn’t know you could be fined for shopping too long.”
Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features.