Illegal parking when shopping: According to the court, supermarket operator is allowed to query owner data

Status: 20.11.2023, 16:30 p.m.

By: Sebastian Oppenheimer

CommentsPrint Share

Supermarket parking spaces are mostly private property. Nevertheless, the operators are allowed to request the data of the owners of illegal parkers from the road traffic authority.

If you park your car in a supermarket parking lot, you usually don't think much about it. However, there are some special features to consider: For example, right-before-left does not automatically apply - even if there is a sign in the parking lot that points out the validity of the Road Traffic Regulations (StVO). So if you rely on it, you may be in for a nasty surprise in the event of an accident. It can also be expensive if you don't follow the parking rules – and park longer than allowed, for example, as a woman in Schleswig-Holstein is now doing. She wanted to defend herself in court against the handing over of her owner data to the private operator – and failed before the administrative court (Az.: 10 B 78/23).

Supermarket obtains owner data from parking offender - woman therefore goes to court

In the case before the court, a car owner had exceeded the parking time in the customer parking lot of a supermarket by 20 minutes. The dealer obtained the owner data from the authority and charged the woman a contractual penalty of 20 euros. The driver was then annoyed above all by the authorities' willingness to provide information. Since the parking offence took place on private property and not in the public traffic area, she demanded that the office submit a cease-and-desist declaration in summary proceedings.

Anyone who does not comply with the regulations in supermarket or shopping centre car parks usually has to pay a fine – or even be towed. (Symbolic image) © Michael Gstettenbauer/Imago

You can find even more exciting car topics in the free newsletter from our partner 24auto.de.

Court rules against illegal parker: Query of owner data in supermarket parking lot permissible

The Administrative Court of Schleswig-Holstein ruled against the vehicle owner. In the case of the disclosure of vehicle data, it is irrelevant that the car park is private property. It is only necessary that the parking lot is open to the general public, according to the court's order.

If you collect a fine in a supermarket parking lot, you should always take a close look at it - because it can happen that fraudsters hand out fake tickets there. In some cases, you should definitely be suspicious: For example, if there are spelling mistakes or awkward wording on the ticket, as was recently the case with fake traffic tickets handed out by rip-off artists in Berlin. (With material from SP-X)