Aussies have been urged to throw out private parking fines amid claims from drivers that tickets aren’t ‘enforceable’.
A Brisbane motorist recently posted a picture of a $77 fine to Reddit, seeking advice and asking Aussies whether the ticket was actually real as the car wasn’t parked on the street the fine referred to on September 18 in inner-city Fortitude Valley.
‘Partner parked in the Valley today on Acland Lane but notice is for Bridge St which is around the corner from where she was,’ they captioned the fine.
‘Never seen this company before, is this legit?’
The fine issued by Parking Monitoring and Enforcement Services, stated that if the $77 was not paid within 28 days, an extra $43 will be added to the total.
Fellow motorists were quick to point out the legalities of a private parking ticket.
‘Not enforceable, throw away,’ one wrote.
Another said: ‘File it away in the cylindrical filling cabinet, or do what I do and add it to the wall of honour – 100 per cent not enforceable.
The $77 private parking fine that was posted to Reddit named a street the motorist wasn’t even parked at
‘The only parking fines in South East Queensland that I know are enforceable are BBC (and other councils) and UQ.’
A third wrote: ‘They can’t enforce it unless they can get your details and take you to small claims court.
‘They used to be able to get this info easily but it’s been tightened up.’
And it appears Aussie drivers are correct.
Private penalties issued are in fact not ‘fines’, but instead compensation for when a driver breaks a contract that was agreed upon by entering a private car space.
According to the Consumer Action Law Centre, if drivers don’t wish to pay the advice is to ‘do nothing’, Yahoo reported.
The centre claimed it’s ‘unlikely’ that a private parking company or operator will the matter further – even if they do take the next step of threatening legal action.
The driver had been parked on Acland Lane in Fortitude Valley (pictured) but the ticket fined them for being parked on Bridge Street
Melbourne barrister Sean Hardy said the argument that a driver has broken a contract with a private car parking company is ‘flimsy’.
‘The contract cannot lawfully claim a sum that is greater than the reasonable loss suffered by the company as a result of the breach of contract,’ he said.
The traffic court barrister believes no more than $10 would be a more realistic financial loss for a parking company.
The Queensland Government acknowledged that private car park operators set their own fees and charges.
‘You should check the terms and conditions as well as the cost before using a private car park,’ the government states on its website.
‘An operator may issue a payment notice if you breach the terms or conditions of the contract.
‘Payment notices or demands for payment are not fines. Only governments or courts can issue fines.’
Consumer Action Law Centre said if drivers didn’t want to pay the fine they should ‘do nothing’ (stock image)
The government added that private operators must make their terms and conditions ‘fair, transparent and written in plain English’ – but that drivers planning to dispute the ticket are advised to indicate they will contest the fine.
‘We don’t recommend ignoring a payment notice,’ the site stated.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Parking Monitoring and Enforcement Services for comment.
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