Speakers Corner: Questions raised over parking tickets issued in private lots

Will Richardson, who’s from Sudbury, paid a visit to Niagara Falls for a day trip earlier this month. He found parking and using the app a sign told him to download, paid for four hours. When he went to leave – 3.5 hours later – he was greeted with a $50 parking ticket on his windshield.

“I have screen shots of the parking receipt showing that I was well within my time — it made no sense,” Richardson said.

The ticket he received looks much like one you’d receive anywhere else.

“It was a yellow paper ticket, that read “parking infraction” on the top. It had my licence plate, the time, the date and some random scribbled signature,” Richardson explained.

The ticket even cites a Niagara Falls City By-law and states it must be paid within 15 days.

Photo of parking ticket citing Niagara Falls By-Law. CITYNEWS

“At first glance, I saw the City of Niagara Falls By-Law and I was like, ‘Okay, this must be a city issued ticket.'”

But the ticket Richardson received is not from the City of Niagara Falls, nor Park police. In fact, the By-Law cited references a sewer law, and has nothing to do with parking.

The ticket also had a QR code but it doesn’t take you to a city website to pay the fine.

“When I scanned the code it took me to the HONK mobile App.

HONK is a company hired by the owners of private lots to facilitate payments. The lot where Richardson parked is owned by a hotel group, which issued the citation.

“Because the ticket looked so real, I had to make several calls to try and dispute this. At first, I called the city’s parking office, thinking they issued it,” Richardson said. “But I later found out it wasn’t the city at all. It was the hotel group.”

Sign showing the payment options provided by HONK. CITYNEWS

CityNews reached out to HONK and a spokesperson said, “HONK facilitates payment for the infraction (all funds go to the parking operator). But we don’t have anything to do with the issuing, enforcement, consequences etc. of the ticket.”

The hotel group – presented with screenshots showing Richardson had paid – said it was issued by mistake and cancelled the ticket. They say HONK also enables users to easily dispute fines if there is an error.

But here’s the thing – even if Richardson had not paid, these non-government tickets are not enforceable. A spokesperson for the hotel group says they’re used to remind people they failed to pay for parking but there’s little they can do if the fine is not paid. Unlike a city issued parking ticket, where you could be faced with payment when you renew your registration.

The spokesperson – who asked not to be named – says they’ve had a huge influx of people trying to park for free, so they started issuing these ‘citations.’

CityNews reached out to Niagara Falls City Hall. A spokesperson was unaware of these private lot tickets but after we showed them one of them, they’re taking action.

“We will be sending a letter to this hotel group, asking them to stop referencing this by-law, which again, has nothing to do with parking,” said Carey Campbell, Manager for the Office of the Mayor.

While Richardson paid for his spot — and had proof – for those who legitimately don’t pay, some owners of private lots can do other things, like send the unpaid fee to collection agencies or call a tow truck. Both options would be far more expensive than a $50 fine.

“The people who own these lots have every right to try and collect payments – especially from those who do not pay, I get that,” Richardson said. “But they should do it properly and get help from the city to enforce it properly. Issuing non-enforceable tickets that look like they’re from the city, isn’t right.”

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