Being ticketed at a privately operated parking lot in Vancouver is a frustrating experience that appears to be all-too-common in the city, and after Daily Hive Urbanized reported a story about it this week, more residents have voiced their frustrations.
A Vancouver broadcaster shared his story of being ticketed even though he paid for parking at a downtown EasyPark lot, and the story really hit a nerve with Daily Hive Urbanized readers. Many say similar things have happened to them at privately owned Vancouver parkades, and they’re sick of being unfairly ticketed.
Samson Chan parked his car in an EasyPark lot in Vancouver’s Chinatown on June 3 just after 11 am and purchased a ticket at 11:04 am. Luckily he kept his receipt because when he returned to his car a couple of hours later, there was a ticket on the dash — placed at 11:05 am.
“It really pisses me off because clearly I just parked and was paying for the ticket,” he told Daily Hive Urbanized. “Basically, the guy was ticketing me while I was paying. It was so absurd.”
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Tickets from privately operated parkades not legally enforceable: Traffic lawyer
The stories shared with Daily Hive Urbanized come from privately owned and operated parkades within Vancouver. Companies that operate parkades here include EasyPark, Diamond Parking, Impark, and more.
Lawyer Kyla Lee tells Daily Hive Urbanized those fines are not legally enforceable, and all the company can do is sell the debt to a collections agency.
“You shouldn’t have to prove that you paid when they’re the ones that are in the wrong,” Lee said of the individuals ticketed while at the meter.
“If you’re being ticketed and you’ve already paid for parking, my recommendation would be to completely ignore the ticket. I wouldn’t jump through the hoops. If they’ve got your money, the likelihood they’re going to sell that debt to collections is slim.”
Read the full story here.