Complaint & Review: Colchester Spar

I was contemplating whether to write this, but the more I thought about the hassle I’ve been through, the more I felt it needed to be said.

My vehicle was parked in the parking lot at Colchester Spar, right in front of Taste of Africa. I drive a small car and rarely use my boot, as there’s barely space due to the speakers fitted inside. When I returned home, I noticed a huge dent on my boot.

I immediately phoned Spar to ask if they could check the CCTV footage to clarify what had happened. One of the managers informed me that they would get back to me, as there were certain passwords and rules for accessing the system. He later called back to say I needed to obtain a letter from the police for them to release the footage.

At that stage, I had already contacted my insurance company to report the incident. I then went to the police station, opened a case, and received a case number. While still at the station, I phoned Spar again — this time, I believe I was speaking to the owner. When I asked what letter was required, I was told that not a police letter, but a court letter, was needed for them to release the footage.

Even the police officer I was with was baffled — he stated that he had never heard of a place refusing to release footage of an incident on their premises unless there’s a court order. I then asked if the police themselves came to the store to view the footage, would they be denied access. The response was still no, and that I’d need to go through court to obtain it.

I find this process completely unreasonable and unhelpful, especially as a customer and victim of damage that occurred right in their parking lot. Instead of assisting, I was given the runaround and no solution. Extremely disappointing service and a very frustrating experience overall.