Drivers are receiving penalty notices in droves. Have you made the same mistake?

He received a fine of PLN 150 for free parking. He was not alert

Today I experienced a situation with a yellow ticket behind the car window in front of a McDonald’s restaurant. in Warsaw at ul. Pułkowa 60. Tired from a long journey, while going to have coffee, I did not pay attention to the inscription visible high under the parking sign. I stayed at the restaurant for about 30 minutes. What should I do in this situation? – asks Mr. Wojciech, who sent us a request for payment of an additional fee printed on a yellow receipt. The payment deadline of PLN 150 is scheduled for September 24, 2024.

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– As part of the conclusion of a parking space rental agreement and acting on the basis of EuroPark parking regulations this additional fee applies. If the additional fee is not paid within 2 weeks from the date of its accrual, Europark may claim payment through amicable or judicial proceedings based on the vehicle owner’s data obtained from the Central Register of Vehicles and Drivers (CEPiK). – the note on the receipt is scary.

Free parking in front of the store. What to look out for?

The situation that happened to Mr. Wojciech in the parking lot of a McDonald’s restaurant resembles thousands of other cases reported in parking lots at stores like Biedronka or Lidlwhere parking meters are becoming more and more common. And if there is a parking meter in these places, it means that after parking your car you must collect a ticket that entitles you to free parking (during the first 60 or 90 minutes stipulated in the regulations) and leave it on the dashboard behind the car window. This way, you will avoid a possible request to pay an additional fee.

Free parking for 60 minutes, fine after 30 minutes

Problem However, in many of these places, employees of the company that manages a particular parking lot lie in wait for inattentive drivers – sometimes it happens that such “undercover officers” are sitting in the car and observe the behavior of people at the parking meter. If a valet notices that someone enters a store or restaurant bypassing the parking meter by issuing a free ticket (or putting the printed ticket in his pocket), he immediately starts issuing a ticket. Apparently, this must have been the case with Mr. Wojciech, who was drinking coffee and after 30 minutes. he went back to the car and found it stuck behind the windshield wiper request payment of an additional fee of PLN 150. Can anything be done with this thing?

Cancelling a parking ticket at McDonald’s, Biedronka or Lidl

– Do not respond to those calls found behind the wiper– says Karol Hojda, legal advisor from Wrocław, Dziennik.pl. – You never know whether the request comes from an entity authorized to collect any fees. There are known cases in case law where parking companies tried to collect fees despite the lack of a management agreement for a certain area (judgment of the Katowice District Court of 23 June 2017, IV Ca 314/17, the case concerned parking in a housing cooperative) – our interlocutor points out.

“By ticket” for free parking in front of the store. Beware of scammers

According to the legal advisor, a separate issue is a commonly known practice placement of payment requests by fraudsterswho simply purchased the appropriate printer and created requests specifying their own bank account for payment. Criminals look for an easy target – they attack drivers who do not collect parking ticket fines and issue a “mandate” in your own name. Furthermore, redirecting a fraud victim with a QR code to a fake website is also not a problem.

Complaining is a bad idea, this is how you expose your data to legal action

– Trying to complain is also a bad idea with restaurant or store receipt attached. First, it is specific self-reporting in terms of who drives the vehicle at a given place and time, because, oddly enough, companies always require complete data for legal action. Secondly, internal contracts between parking companies and landowners limit the possibility of positive consideration of such complaints – warns Hojda. So what should Mr. Wojciech do?

– The simplest and safest way is to simply wait for a possible lawsuit. Some companies even sue others, while others do not and simply demand payment. – observes the lawyer. – Lawsuits are always filed against vehicle owners, based on CEPIK data. However, in this case, the lawsuit for payment must be filed against the person who parked the vehicle at a specific place and time. The manager must also demonstrate that all obligations to inform the consumer about the terms of the contract concluded have been fulfilled. In practice, parking companies are unable to prove the above. elements, which ends they are losing their minds – explains.

Drivers are receiving mass citations. Up to PLN 600 in fines

– Recently The law firm is receiving increasing reports that individual parking companies are sending payment requests to vehicle owners. The amounts are rising to PLN 600 – Hojda admits. Drivers who received fines despite charging for free parking tickets also report to the Competition and Consumer Protection Office. There have also been cases of issuing payment notices to people who have not yet managed to return to their car with the printed ticket in hand.

Penalty 46 seconds after receiving a parking ticket

– I parked in the parking lot: Krakow Łokietka Biedronka to go shopping. After collecting the parking ticket (13:44:14), I returned to the car where, behind the windshield wiper, I found a notice for payment of an additional fee, issued at 13:45. The time of 46 seconds is definitely too short to read the parking rules and return with the parking ticket to the car on the other side of the parking lot – A customer of the store wrote to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. The situation where the driver placed the ticket behind the windshield, but according to the controller the ticket was not sufficiently visible, also generated controversy.