By PAUL MILLAR
CHANGES to the law have made it more difficult for Geelong pay-and-display car park operators to issue “unenforceable payment notices dressed-up to look like fines”.
The changes have prompted a consumer action group to urge motorists to consider their options on $88 fines for running over time while parked on sites like Cunningham Pier.
The new legislation prevents private car park operators from applying for disclosure orders to locate offenders through VicRoads’ data base.
Consumer Action Law Centre’s Jonathon Brown said the operators were now unable to issue demands for payment because they had lost their access to names and addresses.
Motorists should now “carefully consider” their options if given a ticket in a private car park, he said
Private operator Care Park has parks: on Cunningham Pier; in Spring St, Geelong West; Yarra St near Officeworks; and at Geelong Private Medical Centre, on the corner of Little Ryrie and Argyle Sts.
Care Park’s Yolanda Torrisi said the company was considering introducing new technology.
“It’s very easy to make changes to ensure that people pay. It’s a matter of changing the technology – people would be silly not to comply,” Ms Torrisi said.
Pay-and-display signs on Cunningham Pier say valid tickets must be displayed on dashboards and “failure to do so will result in issue of a payment notice for $88”.
Ms Torrisi said Care Park could not call the $88 a fine because the company was not a statutory authority.
The $88 was instead a payment for a breach of contract, she said.
Ms Torrisi advised any motorists who disputed their tickets to contact Care Park in the first instance.
Recent legal decisions determined that some private car park fines were unenforceable because the damages did not reflect the operators’ actual losses.
VicRoads’ Glen Madeira said only enforcement agencies such as Victoria Police and councils could now access VicRoads data through an information-protection agreement.
Car park operators previously requested the details of more than 50,000 Victorians a year to send letters of demand for payments of $80 to $100 a ticket.
Consumer Affairs Minister Jane Garrett said some car park operators were issuing unenforceable payment notices dressed-up to look like fines.
“For too long people have been intimidated into paying fake fines. This legislation stops this practice in its tracks,” Ms Garrett said.
