Dear Editor,

Last night I met with an old friend for a catch up at the Costa. 

She has been given less than a year to live, so not withstanding, we drank and talked inside for several hours. 

I was then informed by a patron there, who had read previous complaints in your paper, that I was going to receive a parking fine of £60 for parking in the Costa Carpark [St Michael’s retail park] and being in the Costa for more than 30 minutes. 

As if losing our jobs, family members and friends through this pandemic isn’t bad enough, we now have opportunistic bandits preying on us when we come to shop. 

Does retail in Basingstoke really want to lose more customers? 

The signage was absolutely not clear, and to be honest was the last thing I’d expect as a paying customer parking in a retail carpark. 

Ric Lovett