Once again, the controversial (and probably illegal) practice of “fining” people for alleged breaches of parking conditions is making News Headlines.

Channel 9’s A Current Affair program has run a series of reports over the last few weeks about the methods Australian National Car Parks (ANCP) seem to be using to intimidate people into paying “fines” for failing to get a ticket at public Car Parks they manage.

It was alleged that ANCP take advantage of the fact that people are often unaware that they need to get a ticket – even though the car parks are clearly signed as “2 Hours Free Parking”.  It seems that if you fail to get a ticket (even if you stay for less than 2 hrs) ANCP staff have been issuing ‘liquidated damages’  demands for $66 – which quickly escalate to $88 and then $163 if you don’t pay in time – in some cases followed by a NOTICE OF INTENTION TO SUE.

However, as a private company, ANCP does not have legal authority to administer fines.

What the law says:

A DRIVER using a private car park enters into a contract with the operator to abide by the terms and conditions stated on signs (which must be prominently displayed).

Under contract law, parties are not entitled to impose penalties for breach of contract but can seek “liquidated damages” – which are defined as a reasonable estimate of the damage suffered as a result of the contract being breached. If a court finds the estimate is not reasonable it is defined as a penalty and becomes invalid.

If damages are sought by a private car-park operators but resisted by the driver the issue may end up in court, however, the company then has to demonstrate how the damage it suffered equals the damages it is seeking.

There is considerable doubt whether ANCP could justify the $66 damages they have been demanding.

But It’s all happened before :

This is certainly not the first time this type of practice has been reported.

In April 2007, The Age (Crackdown on car parking ‘bullies ) reported similar practices by Australian National Car Parks and highlighted that a number of Victorian Councils had banned (or were considering bans) on ANCP operating within their regions.

Moreland Council, which includes Brunswick, Coburg and Pascoe Vale, accused Australian National Car Parks of bullying behaviour, and Darebin Council, which includes Northcote and Preston, had asked the company to stop handing out tickets.

At the time ANCP was being investigated by the NSW Office of Fair Trading and had also been reported to Consumer Affairs Victoria.

In 2006, then NSW fair trading minister Diane Beamer urged drivers to “exercise extreme caution” in ANCP car parks because the company could have been engaging in “improper, misleading and deceptive conduct”.

In October 2008, the Herald Sun (Supermarket shoppers not legally obliged to pay parking fines ) reported that tens of thousands of Victorians had paid up for shopping centre parking fines that they were not legally obliged to pay.

On 10th October, Consumer Affairs Victoria issued a state-wide alert warning motorists that Care Park Pty Ltd had no power to issue fines or impose penalties at “free” supermarket car parks.  Also at that time Australian National Car Parks was at the centre of a case designed to test the legality of its demands, and a third company that issued demand notices – Parking Infringements Victoria – was under investigation by Consumer Affairs.

A Facebook group called The People vs Australian National Car Parks -  has been established with the aim of helping with information and advice.  There are also plenty of active forums discussing the issues, but consensus seems to be that if you do get issued with one of these demand notices – don’t panic and don’t lose sleep over it – simply throw the notice away.

If you are tired of dealing with Car Park Operators, and Searching for a Parking Space or if you have a spare Parking Space to Rent out – www.spaceout.com.au could help you.