Disabled Parking at Supermarkets

A long time ago, I decided that I really could not be bothered with going to the Supermarket. I was fed up with the rude people who rush around as if the place is their own, the staff who cannot answer the most simple of questions and I absolutely hated the queues! I now choose to do all my shopping online - be it my groceries or my luxury items!

So you can imagine my pleasure when listening to a BBC news report recently on Supermarket parking, that I discovered that I was one of the lucky ones that did not have to worry about parking but once my initial self-satisfaction subsided I took a longer look at the issue and discovered that I was actually quite irate at the current practices operating within our major Supermarkets.

The BBC identified that the four major chains all impose parking limits on their customers in most of their Supermarket car parks. A survey by the BBC revealed that 124 large Supermarkets from the big four do not allow extra parking time for their disabled customers. It also revealed that the big four are opting more to use private firms to enforce their parking rules meaning that disabled customers are becoming increasingly easy targets for these overly-keen patrols. By not allowing extra time for their disabled customers, all of the big four supermarkets are breaking the current disability discrimination laws.

Neil Coyle, from the charity Disability Alliance, told the BBC “Supermarkets need to acknowledge there is a problem, and secondly, very quickly they need to ensure their car parking procedures conform with the law”. He also added that the supermarkets need to end the “unfair charges” or “they can wait until someone takes a legal case and potentially face a considerable compensation case”.

I know many drivers already feel that they are an easy cash-cow for raising revenue but for the Supermarkets to sit back and allow this outrageous practice to continue is unacceptable. They must ensure their parking controls conform with the law and make reasonable adjustment for their disabled customers.

After all, these disabled customers are only there to buy the products they sell!