Home Bargains Essex customers fined for parking outside

The car park at the new Colchester superstore, which is owned by Sainsbury’s, is enforced by Euro Car Parks.

A number of people have been caught out after parking in spaces which are designated to the ‘drive thru’ at the Lightship Way store.

There was due to be a Sainsbury's store next door back in 2022 but there is now an Argos distribution centre.

The parking spaces have no clear instruction saying not to park there and no information in the bay about what they are for.

Spaces - customers have been parking outside Home Bargains and been getting fined for parking in these spaces (Image: Credited)

Anne Taylor and Brigid Bailey have both been fined for parking in the spaces.

Anne said: “Yesterday, me and Brigid were driving round and found two spaces and we were then fined for parking there.

Fined - Anne Taylor is one of the people who has received a fine after parking in one of these spaces (Image: Brigid Bailey)

“All that the parking ticket says is that my vehicle wasn’t parked within a bay.

“I will absolutely not be revisiting the store after what has happened.”

Tickets - Anne Taylor and Brigid Bailey were both fined at the same time when visiting Home Bargains (Image: Brigid Bailey)

Brigid said: “They should have a notice up in the store making people aware - 40 years of driving and I've never experienced anything like this.

Angry - Brigid Bailey was fined alongside her friend Anne as they visited the new store together (Image: Brigid Bailey)

“If the parking space was hatched or was clear that we couldn’t park there we wouldn’t have done.”

There are more reports of fines for the same reason on online reviews of the Home Bargains store.

Chris Baker left a review saying: “After visiting the new store for 20 minutes, we came out to find a parking ticket for £85 along with a few other cars.

“No car parking attendant to discuss with and the store wasn’t interested as they say it’s not their car park. I will not be going back.”

The fines which are reduced if paid within 14 days to £50, can take up to 28 days to appeal, meaning if the appeal is rejected the customers is left paying the full amount.

A spokesman for Sainsbury's said: "“This part of the car park is a traffic aisle to allow passage between the parking bays.

"It is marked with clear 'give way' triangles and junction markings – we are reviewing the signage and markings at the site to understand if we can make it even clearer that these are not parking spaces.”