Bunnings Doncaster: Hardware giant charges $18 for more than two hours’ parking

For the first two hours, you can shop at this hardware giant’s Doncaster store for free. But after that, get ready for a hefty hit to the wallet.

A major retailer is slugging people $18 to park for more than two hours at one of its newest stores — but they can get the fee waived if they are a genuine customer.

Bunnings introduced paid parking in the underground carpark of its Doncaster store to ensure spots are always available for customers, with concerns people could be using the carpark to shop at nearby Westfield Doncaster.

While the first two hours remain free, shoppers are charged $18 for staying more than two hours, and can be charged up to $60 for a full day’s parking.

A similar arrangement is in place at Bunnings’ stores in Hawthorn and Collingwood.

However, genuine customers can speak to store management to try and get a refund if they can prove they have been shopping the entire time.

The store opened in December and is located near one of Melbourne’s biggest shopping centres, Westfield Doncaster, which also has paid parking after two hours.

By comparison, Westfield charges $3 for three hours’ parking, and has a maximum daily rate of $45.

Box Hill resident Lisa, who didn’t give her last name, had to fork out the fee while visiting Bunnings with another friend and their children, and spending time in the cafe and playground.

Lisa said she missed signage at the carpark entrance outlining the fees, but still felt the charge was “a bit overboard”.

”I expected possibly a surcharge for the extra hours, but not that much,” she said.
“$18 is very extreme, I could park in the city for less than that … you don’t expect something quite so high in the suburbs.

“They might be trying to deter people from parking at Bunnings and going around to Westfield.”

Other customers, including Doncaster tradie Joseph Ramondetta, also believed the move was to deter Westfield shoppers and visitors to nearby apartment buildings.

“I’m never here for more than two hours … but you don’t want people from the shopping centre coming over here,” he said.

Fellow tradie Steve D’Amelio, of Rowville, believed the fee was “fair” on non-Bunnings shoppers, but “stiff” on those who wanted to browse around.

“If a tradie was here for more than two hours, I don’t know if he’s really working,” Mr D’Amelio said.

Bunnings’ area manager Craig Bleksley said the carparking system was managed by a third party and installed “to ensure that car spaces are available for our customers, and are not occupied by non-customers looking for a long term park.”