Tesco shoppers fuming after spotting 'problem' with new parking rules at supermarket

A recent change to Tesco's parking regulations has sparked outrage among shoppers.

An X user expressed their frustration after spotting a new sign at their local Tesco, which imposes strict 'maximum stay' limits for late-night customers - cutting their allocated time dramatically compared to daytime visitors.

At present, from 6am to 8pm, patrons can park freely for up to three hours, but evening shoppers coming in from 8pm to midnight now only get one hour, with the timeframe shrinking even further to just 30 minutes for anyone needing to park between midnight and 6am.

The disgruntled social media user lamented: "Hey @Tesco I do my shopping at night so I can wander round without my kids and buy nice things that I can hide and eat by myself. It's a couple of hours to myself once a week. This new policy sucks."

In follow-up posts, they elaborated: "For further info, it's because they're planning on putting a BK drive through in the bottom of the car park. Mo money mo money. I know to a lot of people this probably seems petty and not a big deal, but to anyone who either has kids or works weird hours and has to shop in the evening, or for anyone neurodivergent it's absolutely not okay.

"I'm aware the store is shut 12-6am, I'm talking about when I like to go at 9pm for a couple of hours when it's nice and quiet and I can shop in peace. Literally can't believe I'm having to justify myself to some of you absolute b*****ds."

Others shared her sentiment, arguing that the new policy would cause inconvenience to those who prefer to shop during quieter hours. One X user commented: "I second that @Tesco. I know people who suffer with anxiety do their shops at night as it's quiet and much more calmer atmosphere."

A third user agreed, but suggested there might be a reason behind the change too. They said: "It might be because a lot of Tesco car parks get used as boy racer car meets late at night."

A fourth said: "I saw this in the community group yesterday. Very odd decision by Tesco. I agree with the person who said it should be a blanket 3 hours while the store is open and 30 minutes at all other times."

A Tesco spokesperson said the change is aimed in part at combating "anti-social behaviour" at night.

They said: "It is important to us that all our customers can find a space when they visit our stores and, where we have parking limits in place, this is to allow us to better manage spaces, and to deter anti-social behaviour in the car park at night, especially outside of opening hours."