Editorial policy

Independence

Out of Town Shopper is independent. No retailer, landowner, parking operator, charging network or trade association pays for, reviews or approves what we write. We do not accept free products, paid placements or sponsored content. If that ever changed, we would say so clearly on the page concerned and in our advertising disclosure.

Choosing topics

We write about the questions that come up on a real retail park trip and afterwards: parking, access, opening hours, collecting and transporting goods, refunds, deliveries and appliance disposal. We avoid topics where we cannot check the facts against an authoritative source, and we do not review individual shops or retail parks.

Balance and tone

We aim to be fair to shoppers and to businesses. That means explaining your rights clearly without overstating them. A private parking charge is not a fine, for example, but that does not mean it can be safely ignored. Where the law gives a business discretion, such as on change-of-mind returns, we say so.

UK-wide coverage

Consumer law is largely UK-wide, but parking law, Sunday trading, building regulations and limitation periods differ between the four nations. Our guides say which nation a rule applies to, and do not assume England is the default for everyone.

Keeping guides current

Every article shows the date it was last updated. We review guides when legislation or official guidance changes, and review all legal guides on a regular cycle. Where an area is in flux, such as the statutory code of practice for private parking, we describe the current position and tell readers how to check for updates.

Corrections

If we get something wrong, we fix it promptly and update the date. Significant corrections are noted on the page. Our fact-checking policy explains the process, and our content standards set out what we will and will not publish.