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On Monday this week, podiatrist Hildegunn Pettersen (46) was going to take a quick trip to Kiwi at Holmlia Sentervei in Oslo to buy a banana.
Like several other customers, he did not realize that a parking meter had been installed in the store.
Avisa Oslo was the first to mention the case.
It’s free to park outside the Kiwi store for 45 minutes, but customers must now first enter the registration number at the vending machine.
“Oh shit”
When Pettersen had to pay for the banana, an old man ran into the store and showed a yellow note.
– Said employees had to make it clear to their customers that a parking meter had been installed. So I thought, “Oh shit,” Pettersen tells TV 2.
Pettersen dropped his banana and hurried to his car. A parking ticket awaited her as well.
– She was so angry, she says, and says she was in the store for a maximum of two minutes.
Pettersen went directly to the parking attendant, who had sat in the car.
– I opened his car door and asked him what this was all day, Pettersen tells TV 2.
– I followed the clients
The 46-year-old says she is sure the parking attendant followed her when she entered Kiwi.
-I can’t believe anything else that they must have followed people, he says.
Pettersen explained to the parking attendant that he was only in the store for two minutes to buy a banana and that he did not know that a parking meter had been installed.
– I said I hadn’t seen any clear signage. He then said that he couldn’t know how long he had been in the store. She also said it had nothing to do with the signage, she says.
Think the fine is lying
The parking ticket indicates that Pettersen parked outside the store at 09.25, which she believes is completely wrong.
– I followed the clock closely since I was on my way to work. I know I parked at 9:35. That means the guard wrote that I parked ten minutes early. Then she knew how long I was in Kiwi, and it was very quick to print the ticket, she says.
Pettersen looked around and then discovered that a note had been hung on the door, which opens automatically.
– That note disappears when the door is opened! Then it is impossible to see. When people go in and out all the time, the door is open and no one can see the note, he says.
Pettersen later noticed that there was a small note on the alcohol dispenser inside the store.
– You don’t see it when you’re busy opening your hands, she says.
Refuses to pay
Pettersen says he understands that parking should be regulated, but reacts to the lack of signage.
– I stopped by yesterday just to see if they had done anything with the brand, and then all of a sudden, a street dollar was mounted with information. If only it had been so clear when I was there on Monday … he says.
Pettersen says he will not pay the 300 kronor that the parking ticket is on.
– Never in the world. I have to complain about this, she says.
– Impossible to go back
The CEO of the corresponding parking company, Park Nordic AS, Fredrik Schjerve, has not responded to TV 2 inquiries.
In an email to Avisa Oslo, he writes that with the new parking regulations that came into effect on January 1, 2017, it is not possible to impose a penalty until six minutes have passed.
In other words, it is not possible to go back in time as claimed in the case.
In this case, the valet arrives at the facility and has to wait six minutes before checking in. This is so that the parking lot has a reasonable time to familiarize himself with the parking conditions, “he writes.
I have a vending machine after complaints.
Kiwi’s North Oslofjord regional manager Tore Hartmann explains that Holmlia customers have complained that there are too few parking spaces and that a vending machine has therefore been installed.
– We are aware that there have been some fines here. At Holmlia Sentervei, we have previously received many customer complaints because there have been few parking spaces, she tells TV 2.
AND:
– After further investigation of the case, it turned out that many used the parking spaces without making purchases in the store. This created frustration among customers who could not find a parking space, and is the reason why we have introduced the system.
He explains that Kiwi has labeled more than what the regulations require.
– We fully understand that it is boring to be fined and, of course, we might wish that this regulation was not necessary. If you have complaints about the tickets you have received, you should bring them to the parking company. Kiwi is not involved in the fines, he concludes.