May 1st 2024.
A woman in New Zealand was in for a rude awakening when she returned from work to find a parking ticket on her car windshield. Josephine Williams was shocked to see the fine of NZ $85, as she had been parking her car in the same spot for months without any issues. She had been leaving her car in a gravel clearing at Westgate, in Auckland's west, and taking the bus into the city. However, this time when she returned, she found that a Wilson Parking car park had been set up around her already parked car, causing confusion and frustration.
Williams explained her experience to Stuff, stating that she was greeted with a parking ticket and a flyer from Wilson Parking, stating that paid parking had started that day. This came as a surprise to her and many others, as there was no indication of this change in the parking rules. She questioned what breach she had made and how she was supposed to know about the new parking rules when there was no signage in the car park.
To support her claim, Williams provided dash cam footage showing her pulling into the gravel clearing at 7:45am. In the video, there were no signs or branding from Wilson Parking visible. However, by 6pm, a large red and white sign had been erected at the entrance, displaying the new parking rates. Williams felt that this was a deliberate move by Wilson Parking, as the sign was put up sometime after 9am and then used to fine every car that was already parked there.
After requesting a review of her fine by Parking Enforcement Services, which is owned by Wilson Parking, Williams was able to have her fine waived. However, she is concerned that others may not be aware of their rights and may end up paying the fine. She stated that $85 is a lot of money and could have been used for her grocery shopping for two weeks. She worries about students, the elderly, and those who may not be proficient in English and may not know how to dispute the fine.
Williams estimated that there were usually between 50 and 100 cars in the gravel clearing, and she has also filed a complaint with the Commerce Commission, stating that this incident breached fair trading laws. She believes that Wilson Parking had no excuse for their actions and that they have wasted people's time.
However, Wilson Parking has a different version of events. They claim that the car park had been set up and clear signage had been installed on April 22, with several customers making payments through the Parkmate app to prove the effectiveness of the signage. They also mentioned that on April 29, more signs were added to all entry points of the car park. To acknowledge this change, Wilson Parking has decided to refund all payments made until April 30 and waive any breach notices issued up to this date. They deny issuing any breach notices before the signs were erected and state that payment options were available from April 22.
In conclusion, this incident has caused frustration and confusion for many commuters who have been using the gravel clearing for parking. While Wilson Parking claims that they had clear signage in place, Williams and others argue that this was not the case. With a complaint filed and fines being waived, it remains to be seen if any changes will be made to prevent similar incidents in the future.
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