I too have been caught out by overstaying (by just over half an hour) at the Scarborough Aldi store on 8 October and received a £70 'Parking Charge'. Interestingly I received this 14 days after the day it was issued, on the day that the initial £40 'reduced fee' expired - presumably this is their usual tactic to frighten people into paying up immediately. On the initial advice of Which? Legal Service I wrote to Parking Eye to say that 'a charge of £70 is totally disproportionate in this event - especially as I spent a considerable amount in the Aldi store that day - any charge/financial loss has to be reasonable and proportionate, which clearly this is not'. They initially ignored my letter and sent a Final Notice, saying that if the payment of £70 is not forthcoming this will see the Parking Charge rise further: 'If this letter is ignored, we will have no option other than to instruct our debt collection agency to secure immediate payment, commencing court proceedings, through our solicitors if required. The consequences of not paying, and subsequent legal proceedings, are that you could receive a County Court Judgement and, if you ignore that, a bailiff will attend your address to remove goods.” They subsequently sent me a letter to “advise that your recent appeal has been unsuccessful at this time, and further evidence (eg store receipt) is required if you wish us to consider your appeal further.”

I have replied, as per your advice on your website, enclosing a cheque for £10 “which we consider to be adequate compensation for my minor breach of contract.” They have now written back saying “Unfortunately the amount you paid was lower than the amount due and that the remainder of the Parking Charge remains outstanding.” Please advise what you think that my next steps should be.