Sainsburies Outrageous WARNING Rant inside

[Simon Turner]

Sorry, need a rant

Well that was nearly an expensive shopping trip!
Needed to get a few bits n bobs so packed wifey and littlum into the car and off we go for a trip to Sainsburies Savacentre.
Upon arrival the usual despair, no parent and child bays available, oh wait, theres ONE left and a transit van has just parked in it, I confront the driver, no children on board so he doesnt need the bay but regardless tells me to **** off and off he goes into the store. That leaves NO bays left, ive no choice, I need a wide bay to get littlun out of the car without crashing my doors into cars parked beside me (car park dents are a REAL pet hate of mine not to mention I actually care about other peoples propery as well as my own). Now Sainsburies Savacentre has something like 40 odd Disabled bays to 15 parent and child bays, so I parked in one of the disabled bays furthest away from the store and thought no more about it.
Upon return to the car I find that Sainsburies now employ Eurocarparks and I have a £60 penalty ticket stuck to my windscreen for parking in a disabled bay. (My shopping was only £25's worth)
So off I go back into the store, extremely angry by this point. Ok I shouldnt have been in a disabled bay but I had no other choice thanks to transit mans inconsiderate attitude.
I spoke to the customer service manager about it, initially she had a pop at me telling me not to shout (it was REALLY noisy in store as it was really busy in there today) I explained to her that I wasnt shouting and that I am in fact half deaf! Anyway I told her what had happened with the parking and she has very kindly taken the ticket and will get it cancelled although im still waiting on a telephone call to confirm this, I no longer have the ticket, its at the store.
While I was waiting I read the tickets offence list, on the MOTHER and baby bit it said "parked in Mother and baby bay with no child present".
I cant wait for the next time go shopping there,
1) I will wait till a bay becomes available which will mean partially blocking the road entrance to the store
2) When we are in the store the ONLY sign inside my car that I have a child is the "Baby on board notice in the rear window and a mirror atatched to the rear headrest that enables me to see baby while we are on the road as she is in a rear facing seat, however when we leave the car, there will be NO child seat in teh car as it comes out as part of the travel system and attatches to the pram.
I very much doubt the car park attendant will have the brains to work that one out!

God help them if I get another ticket if that happens.

Anyway rant over, Im just outraged at the way sainsburies treat their customers

[Minnie]

Good for you, standing your ground Simon. These big stores take their custom for granted,
get too much trade. I like the old fashioned stores from years ago , butcher, baker,
they are slowly disappearing . God help them next time you shop.
Minnie

[susieq]

Hi Simon - I've given up ranting at other drivers when I want to park in a Sainsburys disabled bay occupied by someone not showing a bue badge. Instead, now I make a note of the registration and where the vehicle is parked then report it to the Customer Service desk as I go into the store.

Usually works as the next thing I hear over the tannoy is "Will the driver of XXXX car, registration ABC 123 please report to the Customer Service Desk" I've even hung around the desk waiting for the driver to appear, which they usually do pdq as they think their vehicle has been damaged in some way. The staff at our Sainsburys are usually quite good and tell the offender to move his car immediately as the space is (a) reserved for disabled parking and (b) they are stopping someone who needs it from using it.

Don't get mad - get even

[barrowgirl]

Simon, you are a carer of a disabled person aren't you ? if I recall it's your wife ? the disabled bays in car parks are for ALL people with disabilities.Not just for people with blue badge stickers.Anyone who has a disability as defined by the Disability Discrmination Act is entitled to use a disabled bay.This chestnut keeps coming up again and again.It's a license to print money for the supermarkets as most people don't know their rights.Only council car parks- highways etc are ENFORCABLE by law.Go to martins money expert site and read the long running arguements/discussions about it.I'm a former D.D.A. auditor andfrom my understanding of it experiences like yours make me seethe.Cancer patients are covered by the D.D.A. too but it is a little known fact so people who are ill struggle on parking miles away.
So you were entitled to use that disabled bay in the first place.Are you saying they are trying to give out fines to people who park in a parent /child space and there was no evidence of a child ? that takes the cake.You couldn' t make this up honestly Clueless they are.
This is from direct.gov :-
Off-street car parks
The Blue Badge Scheme does not apply to off-street car parks, for example supermarket car parks. However, off-street car parks may provide bays for Blue Badge holders. Please check with notices before parking.

Apart from local council car parks, most are likely to be privately owned and managed by the individual business.



There is a difference in privately owned car parks. Charges and conditions of use in off-street car parks are a contractual matter between the car park owner and the motorist. Enforcement of disabled persons' parking bays is therefore a matter for the individual owner or operator of the car park.

If a non-disabled motorist parks in a disabled space in a private car park they can be asked to leave. But it can't be legally insisted. For instance at a supermarket, an employee can ask the driver to move their car from the reserved space. But they can't legally insist on it.

So they can't even ask a non disabled person to LEGALLY move from a disabled bay let alone someone with a disabilty.
I hope they haven't ruined your day,
B.x

[Sassy]

Whadda ya know, this REALLY irks me at times, too.

You get to Tesco, send yourself dizzy cruising round and round hunting out a disabled space (amongst all those who are clearly able to walk that little further), pull in and get the badge out... then along comes the parking attendant asking to see it. 15 minutes of wrestling later, it's out of the wallet and in his hands, he looks at hubby, down to card, back at hubby "Are you disabled???" Hubby "Yes" Attendant "Can you proof it" Hubby lifts trouser leg a lil in the middle of the car park. Attendant "I'm sorry about that, you didn't look old enough to be disabled" Me "Maybe not to you but disability isn't always age related, you know!!!"

Hopefully, he'll think twice before being a jackass next time

[BertieBear]

"I'm sorry about that, you didn't look old enough to be disabled"

Er... Huh?!
Is there something about disability that I'm missing here?
Is there a minimum age limit?

Hopefully, he'll think twice before being a jackass next time

My sentiments exactly.

[lady_c]

Whadda ya know, this REALLY irks me at times, too.

You get to Tesco, send yourself dizzy cruising round and round hunting out a disabled space (amongst all those who are clearly able to walk that little further), pull in and get the badge out... then along comes the parking attendant asking to see it. 15 minutes of wrestling later, it's out of the wallet and in his hands, he looks at hubby, down to card, back at hubby "Are you disabled???" Hubby "Yes" Attendant "Can you proof it" Hubby lifts trouser leg a lil in the middle of the car park. Attendant "I'm sorry about that, you didn't look old enough to be disabled" Me "Maybe not to you but disability isn't always age related, you know!!!"

Hopefully, he'll think twice before being a jackass next time

OMG sorry I was really shocked reading this, gd on for given him what for x

[Simon Turner]

Minni I totally agree, I miss the old butchers and bakers shops.

Barrowgirl whilst my wife is classified as disabled we dont have blue badge entitlement (although if we did apply for it we would probably get it)

Im well aware that technically im in the wrong for parking in a disabled bay without a badge but In my defence I did use the one furthest away from the store (which is a good distance to walk) and wouldnt normally have used it except for the fact that the Mother and baby bays (dont get me started on the discrimantion of that phrase) were taken up by people who blatently didnt have kids. That said if a tannoy announcement had gone out asking me to move my vehicle as the space was needed by a disabled person I would happily have moved my car.

Only the other day we popped in there and parked in a Mother and baby bay, right next to us pulled up a young lady who commented "Ooh im glad I got a bay" before locking her car and walking off WITHOUT a child, we loooked in the car and she had a child seat in the back but didnt actually have her child with her, we were gobsmacked by the audacity of the woman.

To quote Barrowgirl

The Blue Badge Scheme does not apply to off-street car parks, for example supermarket car parks. However, off-street car parks may provide bays for Blue Badge holders. Please check with notices before parking.

Apart from local council car parks, most are likely to be privately owned and managed by the individual business.

I fully intend to take issue with this with the store, because if they cant legally enforce the blue badge scheme then they are breaking the law.
Also I take offence to ANYONE thinking they can even touch my car even if it is to put a notice under my wiper, its not yours so you have no right to touch it!

As for

Are you saying they are trying to give out fines to people who park in a parent /child space and there was no evidence of a child ? that takes the cake

Thats exactly what is happening at that store, we dont all have iso fix car seats, in fact my car is too old to have isofix so I have the old fashioned seatbelt model so the car seat comes out in one peice and atatches directly to the pram (Google Silver Cross Travel system for a better description) therefore once we are away from the car there is no evidence that we carry a child apart from the sign in the rear window and the extra mirror on the rear headrest.

Also im STILL waiting to hear from the customer service manager that the parking ticket has been cancelled so I can only hope there will be no repercussions from this as she has the ticket now and not me, if I get a letter in a month or two "reminding" me Im going to be seriously unhappy.

Its upset me and its upset my wife, she has now just done the weeks online shopping, with ASDA, think Sainsburies just lost a long standing customer. Cant say I blame her (not to mention that she also saved £18 over our normal weekly shop).

[lady_c]

Are you saying they are trying to give out fines to people who park in a parent /child space and there was no evidence of a child ? that takes the cake.

ASDA has a 60 penalty for any body using a mother n child space with out having children under the age of 12 with them x

[barrowgirl]

Hi Simon, you aren't technically wrong for parking in a blue badge bay without a blue badge.You do NOT need a blue badge to park in one of those bays (how could you ? they are issued by the council ) .It is the store who is technically wrong in IMPLYING they can enforce the law.Unfortunately this is a myth that the majority of people - including disabled people- mistakenly believe. It's the same with disabled toilets.They aren't just for wheel chair users !! Refer people to the Disability Discrimination Act if they try to bully you.
Summer Hope- OMG ,I am appalled that someone actually asked "can you prove your disability? ".That is disability discrimination.They could definitely get done for that.No one has the right to ask that of anyone with a disability.Do these people think they have x ray vision ? can you see cancer ? heart problems ? lung conditions ? HIV/Aids ? (yes, this is now covered by the act ) endless hidden disabilities ? It is intrsusive and above all - illegal !! you would have a good case for compensation if you ever get asked that again.If you look up the archived cases from the Disability Rights Commission you get a good idea of how people have been unfairly treated.

Look at it this way - if only people who had blue badges could use better parking and facilities- they would be discriminating themselves ! against other people with differing types of disability. It's about disability -NOT MOBILITY. Just because someone can walk doesn't mean they aren't mentally or physically disabled / impaired.
have a lovely weekend.I have time off from my caree this weekend and a huge bubble bath and dark chocolate awaits.I hope it doesn't get soggy
B.x