We all get them, the annoying blue or yellow ticket shoved right into our wipers on our dashboard. We have also heard the rumors that you have to pay all tickets, while others claim you only have to pay some.
Finally- the answer is here.
If you get a ticket issued by the city, i.e., you parked on a city street or in a city lot, you have to pay that ticket.
But if you are on a privately owned lot in Canada you do not, IF YOU DISPUTE IT.
City tickets have clear rules and regulations about what’s allowed and how to fight them.
City parking tickets are enforceable because powers like City Hall can put real penalties on you for not paying. For example, you will not be able to renew a license or register your vehicle if you have unpaid parking tickets on your account. Not paying city tickets can even mess up your credit history.
But private tickets don’t have this power. The power they have is your fear of an Official looking piece of paper.
Privately owned lots like IMPARK and ParkLink make more than $600 million annually. They are all over our cities and make money by charging drivers to park on private property outside of our hospitals, businesses, and courthouses. They have instituted cost-saving measures by removing the attendants to increase profits and have roving agent paid to travel to each lot to put pieces of paper on your windshield that look like parking tickets.
DON’T BE FOOLED.
These tickets look and feel like the legal tickets that are issued by city parking enforcers, but the difference is they are not tickets. They are designed to look like tickets, so you pay ridiculous fees often when you have done nothing improper.
I have personally had a run with these companies. I went for dinner at the Keg, and it started snowing after I placed my ticket on my dash. The snow covered it up during dinner when I came out… BLAMO! A $70 Ticket tucked into my windshield.
I called the number on the back, and it seemed like forever before I could speak to a person. They told me I couldn’t dispute it unless I paid $20, I told them to pound salt. They said if I did about 10 things they would consider reducing the penalty.
I asked them what authority did they have to impose a penalty or appear to write this citation, there was silence and the person on the other end said they had the authority to decide how much the penalty was.
So, I decided to look into it a few years ago and concluded they did not have the authority to fine me in such a way, nor did they have the authority to put it on my credit rating. My response… I threw it away and after a cheesy letter from some collection agency trying to write a lawyer letter it disappeared. I almost paid that 70 bucks reflexively.
So I was pleased to see the CBC Special focusing on the issue,
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/marketplace-parking-private-lots-1.3851956
“CBC’s Marketplace listened in while one ParkLink customer called the company to complain about a ticket. The driver had paid $8 to park for a full day but came out to the car to find an invoice for almost $70 for failing to display the receipt properly.
Despite having a paid receipt, the company rejected the appeal and warned of dire consequences for not paying. The company also said they require a $10 fee from anyone wishing to dispute a ticket, which the customer didn’t think was fair.
“It’ll go to a collection agency, and then they have the authority to tow your vehicle,” the voice on the phone warned.”
So take it from us, you DON’T have to pay the fees or the tickets in private lots if you dispute them. At MILLARS we hate bullies and companies like this that make citizens with good intentions fork out money they shouldn’t because the pieces of paper put on their windshields look like tickets when they are not.
We would like to hear your parking nightmare story and if you have ever stood up to a parking authority bully.
Contact us today for any legal question
519 657 1LAW or info@ml-dev.thirdeyeinsights.ca
