Australians have been urged to scrap private parking fines amid claims from drivers that the fines are “unenforceable”.
A Brisbane motorist recently posted a photo of a $77 fine on Reddit, seeking advice and asking Australians if the fine was actually real, as the car was not parked on the street the fine referred to on September 18 in central Fortitude Valley.
“My partner parked in the Valley today on Acland Lane but the notice is for Bridge St which is just around the corner from where she was,” he captioned the ticket.
‘I’ve never seen this company before, is it legitimate?’
The fine issued by the Parking Monitoring and Control Service stated that if the $77 was not paid within 28 days, an extra $43 would be added to the total.
Other drivers were quick to point out the legalities of a private parking ticket.
“It’s unenforceable, throw it in the trash,” wrote one.
Another said: ‘File it in the cylindrical file cabinet, or do what I do and add it to the wall of honor. It’s not 100 percent enforceable.
The $77 private parking ticket posted on Reddit named a street the motorist wasn’t even parked on
‘The only parking fines in South East Queensland that I know of that are enforceable are those from BBC (and other councils) and UQ.’
A third wrote: ‘They can’t enforce it unless they can get your data and take you to small claims court.
‘It used to be easy to obtain this information, but now access has been restricted.’
And it seems Australian drivers are right.
The private penalties imposed are not actually “fines” but rather compensation for when a driver breaks an agreed contract by entering a private parking space.
According to the Consumer Legal Action Center, if drivers don’t want to pay, the advice is to “do nothing.” Yahoo reported.
The center said it is “unlikely” that a company or private parking operator would investigate the matter further, even if they take the next step and threaten legal action.
The driver had been parked on Acland Lane in Fortitude Valley (pictured) but was fined for parking on Bridge Street.
Melbourne lawyer Sean Hardy said the argument that a driver had breached a contract with a private parking company was “flimsy”.
“The contractor cannot legally claim a sum greater than the reasonable loss suffered by the company as a result of the breach of contract,” he said.
The traffic court attorney believes no more than $10 would be a more realistic financial loss for a parking company.
He Queensland Government He acknowledged that private parking operators set their own rates and charges.
“You should check the terms and conditions, as well as the cost, before using a private car park,” the government says on its website.
‘An operator may issue a payment notice if you breach the terms or conditions of the contract.
‘Payment notices or payment orders are not fines. Only governments or courts can impose fines.’
The Consumer Legal Action Centre said that if drivers did not want to pay the fine, they “should do nothing” (file image)
The government added that private operators must make their terms and conditions “fair, transparent and written in clear language”, but drivers planning to contest the fine are advised to indicate that they will contest it.
“We do not recommend ignoring a payment notice,” the site said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Parking Enforcement Services for comment.