He called us a Reader, who told us that the following situation happened to him on May 9: he arrived at the parking lot by Galeria Wesoła in Bolesławiec (Lower Silesian Voivodeship). He parked and wanted to obtain a free ticket. But it turned out that all the parking meters were out of order. He therefore concluded that since he could do nothing, he would go shopping. At that time, he called the parking operator’s hotline and informed them that all the devices were out of order.
When he returned to his car after shopping, he found a PLN 120 fine for not having a ticket. He called the hotline again to explain the whole situation. There, he reportedly heard that one of the inspectors who was on site had determined that one of the parking meters was in fact working, so he issued the said fine. According to the person who reported the matter, he was the ONLY ONE to receive a fine. (He asked other drivers.) And this despite the fact that nobody had a ticket. (“Everyone was asking what to do next, everyone was taking photos to have supporting evidence.”)
The Reader filed a complaint and told us that if it was rejected, he would take the matter to court.
The Debt Collection Department of Projekt Parking explains:
The information obtained from the Reader is largely inconsistent with the facts. Before checking parking tickets, the inspector checked the parking meters. The check found 1 working parking meter and 2 out of order. The inspector informed the Area Manager about the malfunction of the 2 parking meters, and the matter was forwarded to the service department.
Because 1 parking meter was working, meaning that customers could obtain parking tickets, an inspection was carried out at 9:20 a.m. The inspection found 4 vehicles parked without tickets. The photographic documentation of the notices issued shows that these 4 vehicles constituted a small proportion of all the vehicles parked at that time. The remaining vehicles had authorization to park (parking tickets), which additionally contradicts the claims that all 3 parking meters were out of order. The customer therefore received the notice correctly; he could obtain a ticket from the working parking meter, just like the other people using the parking lot. The metadata of the photos submitted by the customer indicates that the photos of the out-of-order parking meters were taken after 11:20 a.m.—more than 2 hours after the additional charge was imposed. The photos therefore do not confirm that the malfunction existed at 9:20 a.m. and that it was impossible to obtain a ticket at that time. The malfunction occurred only after the inspection had ended, so it cannot constitute grounds for avoiding the additional charge.
Parking-meter malfunctions are repaired on an ongoing basis; situations in which all 3 parking meters are not working are rare. The service team repaired all the parking meters by 12:15 p.m.
The operator points out:
The Galeria Wesoła parking lot is intended for customers of the facility. It is free for 90 minutes provided that the appropriate ticket is obtained; in the case of a longer stay, it is necessary to purchase a paid ticket. Considering when the photos were taken, the “asking other drivers” mentioned by the customer most likely also took place 2 hours after the notice was issued. Given the nature of the parking lot, drivers mainly use it on the basis of free 90-minute tickets, and it was highly unlikely that 2 hours later the customer would encounter another driver who had been charged an additional fee. The claims that the inspector acted maliciously and that only this driver was charged an additional fee are therefore unfounded.
In summary, the inspection was carried out correctly, the customer had the opportunity to obtain a ticket from a working parking meter, and all the parking meters malfunctioned only later.
And adds: – It should also be noted that the notice in question was cancelled as a gesture of goodwill, in response to the complaint submitted by the customer.
What do you think? We invite you to join the discussion.