SIR: Aldi might be the cheapest place to shop for food for most but it is debatable when it comes to the aged and infirm.

A friend of mine who has had a knee operation and is not as nimble as she once was has incurred a £40 fine for exceeding the one-hour time limit imposed in the car park.

She is a loyal Aldi customer who values her independence and has a blue badge but this is irrelevant as it is a private car park. She limits her main shop to once a fortnight to save petrol so it took her over an hour to do her shopping which came to excess of £70 pounds, I appreciate it was not in line with good German efficiency as she ambled around the store taking her time but she is a customer and her needs should be met. This is what happens when it’s left to computers or contractors to enforce dubious rules and regulations.

On receiving the ‘ticket’ in the post she then had to make a return trip of six miles to try and resolve the issue; she described the staff’s attitude as indifferent with someone called Malcolm taking the ticket off her saying “ I’ll put it in the system”. This has left her with no proof of the action she has taken and she does not know if the ticket has been rescinded. Her limited mobility and her age would have been obvious to Aldi’s staff so a more sympathetic and positive response would have been appreciated.

Fortunately all the other major stores have at least two-hour limit and £40 buys a lot of food, beware Christmas is coming and things can only get worse, being cheap is not everything.

Roger Malyn,

Goring Field,

Teg Down,

Winchester