Parking fines and debt collection agency letters have frustrated customers using some Tauranga and Te Puke shopping centres and takeaway restaurants.

People spoken to by the Bay of Plenty Times were issued fines from Wilson Parking for staying overtime at free parking lots attached to shopping centres and McDonald’s restaurants.

Many such places in Tauranga that have free customer parking use Parking Enforcement Services, a division of Wilson Parking, to monitor their car parks.

Wilson Parking says a temporary fault in its mail house processing had disrupted the processing of breach notices.

The complaints

Louise Watson, a personal trainer known as Boss Lady, says she was issued a ticket at Fraser Cove in February but did not know it until she received a “final warning” in the mail.

Watson had been covering a shift at the centre’s supplement store, then had gone to the gym, got her nails done, and visited the supermarket.

She had moved her car to another parking spot within the centre during her time there.

As a casual employee at the store, Watson had not known that people working at the centre needed to register their vehicle registration number to avoid a fine.

She says she understood that parking time limits could be necessary, but was concerned about the impact of fines on families and people on tight budgets.

“It’s fair play. But I think they should monitor it some other way.

“I don’t want a parent who is struggling for money to get fined. Maybe there’s a parent who is getting groceries, looking at Reduced To Clear for a bargain, then going to The Warehouse for a cheap $5 toy and then they get a ticket.”

Charmaine Cook says she got a letter from Baycorp asking to pay a fine she had no idea she had been given.

It turned out that her daughter had been getting her hair done at Fraser Cove and had gone over the time limits, but because the daughter’s car was in her parents’ name, they were the ones who got the fine.

“I fought for two weeks to get it sorted and kept getting the run-around.

“I then passed it on to my husband to sort and he had to get angry with them before he got any answers. In the meantime, we were getting letters from Baycorp and the amount was increasing.

“Eventually, we got a refund after we had paid the original amount.”

Gate Pā resident Sarah Harvey is another shopper who says she unfairly got a ticket.

Sarah had taken her son and his friend out for an early-hours fishing trip in January and had visited McDonald’s 11th Ave for some “sustenance” while it was still dark.

When she got a fine in the mail, she was surprised to see a photo of her car exiting the drive-through, headlights on in the dark, with a time stamp of 9.32am.

Sarah called the 0800 number on the letter to appeal the fine and was asked to supply evidence such as bank statements - but Sarah says she paid for the meals in cash.

“I didn’t even go in the car park. I said to them, you give me the evidence that I was in that park for seven hours. . . . it was so ridiculous.”

Sarah commented on a social media thread in which people shared their stories about encounters with parking fines in Tauranga and Te Puke stores and takeaway stores.

It prompted her to reach out to the television show Fair Go and to ask other people to do the same.

“The fines are huge ... We’re innocent, it’s not right,” says Sarah.

Other social media users also shared their experiences.

One person says they visited Fraser Cove twice in one day and the letter they received showed a photo of them entering the parking lot on their first visit and another exiting on their second visit, claiming they had parked for five hours total.

Another person says they were fined on March 16 for parking at Mount Maunganui McDonald’s and were given 14 days to pay the fine but didn’t know anything about it until receiving a letter from Baycorp on April 4.

The companies respond

When given details of the complaints, a Wilson Parking spokesperson says the company had previously identified a temporary fault in its mail house processing, which had disrupted the processing of breach notices.

“The issue has been addressed, and those affected have had their breach notices waived, where appropriate.”

The spokesperson says anyone who received a breach notice they would like to dispute could appeal the notice by emailing the company.

Fines ranged between $65 and $85 with a $20 late fee, the spokesperson says.

“These fees are in line with those charged across the private enforcement industry with some operators charging higher.”

A Baycorp NZ spokesperson says the company provided debt collection services to a number of clients, including Wilson Parking, and acted on its behalf to collect amounts owing.

A McDonald’s spokesperson says the restaurants named by the complainants had long-standing one-hour free parking restrictions and the company that did the monitoring had been in place for more than a year.

These car parks were monitored by cameras that recorded all vehicles entering and leaving the premises.

“Only when vehicles have used the restaurant’s drive-thru multiple times in one day has there been a known incorrect infringement.

“This occurs when the first time from the first visit and the last time from the last visit have been recorded as one event.

“This is easy to identify though through CCTV, and anyone who has contacted the restaurant when this has happened has had their parking fines waived.

“Once this was known, the restaurants had their cameras readjusted and a new camera installed to minimise this happening again.”

Tauranga Crossing no longer uses Parking Enforcement Services. Centre manager Janet Vincent says the centre had not received any complaints like those described.

“With over 1700 parking spaces available, we strive to provide ample parking opportunities for everyone. Additionally, designated staff parking spaces are provided for the convenience of the employees of our retailers.”

Shopping centres that list Parking Enforcement Services on their websites as the company responsible for monitoring their parking lots include Fraser Cove, Papamoa Plaza, Bethlehem Town Centre and Bay Central.

Bethlehem Town Centre manager Lauren Todd says their 1000 parks were monitored to support its customers and retailers, and to avoid customers having to compete with those misusing the space, for example as a park-and-ride option into the city.

Fraser Cove, Bay Central and Papamoa Plaza were approached for comment.

Fighting the fines

Consumer NZ investigative writer Vanessa Pratley, who has first-hand experience of being fined for overstaying at a free shopping centre car park, says the possibility of debt collection was what swayed her to eventually pay her fine.

However, she believed the $65 fine she received was ”a bit much” for overstaying in a free car park.

“Parking Enforcement Services is required under the Consumer Guarantees Act to provide their service with reasonable care and skill.

‘‘In cases where fines are consistently being issued against consumers who aren’t at fault, there is a risk that Parking Enforcement Services may be in breach of its obligations under the CGA,” says Vanessa.

Vanessa says when a customer used a parking lot displaying signs with terms and conditions, they were accepting a contract. But parking fines should be “reasonably reflective” of the actual loss suffered by the operator.

Customers could appeal breach notices with Wilson or could appeal to the Disputes Tribunal which has a $45 filing fee.

-Sonya Bateson, Bay of Plenty Times