Quick Wobble: My funny email ranting about a parking fine at Asda

As many of you may know, I am prone to a rant or two and can be very easily be led down the grumpy path.  I annoy quickly and can often be found upon my high horse telling everyone my opinion.

Recently, I had a letter from a parking fine company trying to charge me for parking in Asda overnight.  The Asda in question is close to my house and on my commute to work.  The letter, of course, outraged me and I wrote the below to Joe Lycett and his team who are in the process of making a comedy programme for Channel 4 for consumer grumbles.

Hi Joe and team, 

I came across one of your tweets this evening, which was good timing as today I received a disturbing parking fine letter.  Now I am no saint in the car, but this is undeserved.  

I never thought I would be ranting about Asda, but I have been parking shamed for going there twice in the space of 15 hours.  Surely it's another form of being fat-shamed?! 

On my commute home from work, on 3rd January I popped into Asda in Coryton, Cardiff to do the weekly shop, browse the sale, and buy ingredients to make a colleague a gluten-free birthday cake - one of the genuine people, not one that's a bit faddy.  

That evening I baked the cake.  In What's App messages with other colleagues, I realised I needed to up my game when seeing some of the other masterpieces that were being created.  The following morning on the way to work I popped in to get some further decorations for the cake - needed to make sure it was Instagramable after all.  

I was shocked to find a parking fine on my doormat this week.  I was a customer, I'd spent lots of money there - and petrol (god I hate putting petrol in my car) on those two trips, and they were accusing me of staying overnight.  It is a 24 hour Asda, but I had no intention of curling up for the evening in the homeware aisle followed by a quick breakfast in the café - no thank you!  

The receipts for my purchases should be proof enough, surely?!  In a Twitter chat with them, the Asda Service Team they said they were unable to help as it is a 3rd party parking company.  Now, I know this not to be true - it is a just a phone call or email can make this all go away.  No, I have to appeal and prove that I did not leave my car there...?!

The appeal has been lodged, but give me strength!  It's currently £40 rising to £70 after the 23rd January.  And it is January, who has this type of cash... we're all still remembering the prosecco, mince pies and the other crap we inhaled last month.  

Sorry, I did not intend for this email to be a rant, but it has almost been like therapy.  If I manage to save myself from the fine - which I should never have received - I can use the money for that or the charges for having your food shop delivered at home instead.

Thanks for reading - if you made it this far!

I did have a reply from the Joe Lycett team, and they did start to look into it for me.  I am unsure if it was them, or the fact that my bank statements were enough to prove that I had spent more than enough money there - but I released from the fine.

I never intended for this email to see the light of day, but after showing it to a few people they thought it was hilarious - which boosted my ego enormously - I think I am very funny!  I have posted it today, to lighten up inboxes and social media feeds full of snow, snow days, how cold it is and other weather-related messages.