A LAWYER has spoken about a common form of parking fine that has little legal value.
While parking tickets obtained for parking without paying the meter or exceeding the time limit are legally binding, there is one fine that is not.
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Many companies have attached private parking lots; They often outsource the maintenance of these parking lots to specific parking companies.
Toronto-based Precise ParkLink is one such company common across Canada.
The company’s annual revenue is around US$600 million annually, with a large focus on parking lots for hospitals and medical facilities.
Of similar size, Impark has around 400,000 parking spaces in 100 cities across the country.
Income for these companies is earned through two main sources.
First, they charge individuals for parking in their lots, typically by the hour or by the day.
Your second income stream arises when individuals in the first category overpay or underpay.
When drivers park and violate one of the company’s rules, they are charged a fee – forcing them to pay a fee under penalty of some punishment.
But according to Toronto lawyer John Weingust, these fines are not legal parking tickets.
“It’s not a parking ticket,” he said complete blood count.
Despite this, the appearance of the fees makes people feel official.
“They are issuing tickets that look like the [real ones],” he said.
“People think it’s from the city… and they get scared and pay.”
Weingust explained that paying is exactly the opposite response a person should have when faced with a parking fee from a private company.
If you feel like you were taken by them, I say don’t pay the fine.”
John Weingust
“You can throw them in the trash,” the lawyer said of the fake tickets.
According to the lawyer, although municipal parking fines have a real repercussion penalty imposed by the authorities, private fines do not have this weight.
Despite this, private companies still rely on fear of repercussions to charge drivers.
One customer reported paying a full day’s fee for parking, only to find a $70 ticket on his windshield.
So when he tried to dispute it, the company demanded a $10 fee to open the dispute.
When the customer asked what the repercussions would be for non-payment, the response was grim.
“It goes to a collection agency and then they have the authority to tow your vehicle,” the company responded.
While this outcome is not impossible, Weingust explained that the company would have to file a lawsuit to collect the invoice and is unlikely to pay legal fees in excess of a $50 payment.
“You need to get a trial,” Weingust explained.
“They have to go to court to receive this money.”
He gave definitive advice for anyone who receives a fine from a private parking company, especially when it is illegitimate.
“If you feel like you were taken by them, I say don’t pay the fine,” he said.
“Let them sue you.”
Weingus doubled down on his statement, leveling a prediction on how the company will handle nonpayment.
“You’ll never hear from them again,” he said.
How to Fight a Parking Ticket
You can avoid being fined by following all published laws and regulations, but sometimes mistakes are made
Like any form of citation, parking tickets can be avoided by reading and obeying posted signage. However, when visiting a new city, or state, or in a hurry, things can be missed and mistakes can be made.
Suddenly there’s a ticket you weren’t prepared to pay for. If the ticket comes as a surprise to you, there are some things you can do to help your case when appealing a parking ticket.
- Read the ticket carefully. Look for errors such as incorrect street names, license plate numbers, vehicle make and model, time and date, etc. Errors would render the ticket invalid.
- Take pictures. The vehicle in the space, lack of signage, or other vehicles that were not cited for performing the same parking service. If the ticket involves parking too close to something like a fire hydrant, a photo showing a reasonable distance would help your case. Make sure metadata with time and date is accessible. Signs that are obstructed by trees, or on crooked posts, or that are not “obvious” are also great things to photograph.
- Make sure the statute that was violated is listed on the ticket. If it is not listed, the ticket is not valid.
- Immediately follow the appeal instructions on the ticket. All legitimate tickets will have appeal instructions. Waiting until the last moment weakens your argument and can result in late fees.
- When in court, avoid these phrases as they reduce your credibility and weaken your argument:
- “I didn’t know the law.”
- “I was going to move my car.”
- “I can’t pay this ticket.”
- “I’ve been doing this for years.”
- “I checked with the parking officer, who said everything was fine.”
- Contact a lawyer. If you are facing obstacles and feel stuck, you may want to contact a traffic lawyer in your area. Many have free case consultations.
Source: Reader Summary
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
