An Australian motorist whose car collected almost $400 in ‘fines’ has been told by experts he may not have to pay thanks to a legal loophole.
The Adelaide driver received a referral order for collection from Traffic Monitoring Services (TMS), which patrols secure parking locations, on November 27 in the amount of $396.
The letter stated that the driver had violated parking conditions four times, with each violation worth $77.
TMS also added an $88 fee for the additional costs of pursuing the debt, with the total to be paid within 14 days or the company’s lawyers would take “further action.”
However, the man had ‘no idea’ he owed TMS money and had not received any individual breach notices.
Even more confusing, the notice did not list specific dates or locations where the violations were committed.
An Adelaide driver received a collection referral notice (above) from Traffic Monitoring Services for $396
The Adelaide driver contacted TMS and was sent back photos of his old car which he sold in 2022, prior to the apparent offences.
The letter, which instructed him to ‘pay immediately to avoid referral to debt collection’, said: ‘A vehicle registered in your name has parked in a car park monitored by Traffic Monitoring Services (TMS) and has the general violate conditions. from that parking lot.
‘We have now recorded four violations for this registration. As a result, individual notices were placed on that vehicle each time.
‘The notices set out the nature of the breach, which together requires the payment of a sum of $308.’
But even if the Adelaide driver’s current car was pictured in the photos, lawyers say TMS’ fines are a gray area of the law.
While the regulatory agency claims the notices are “enforceable under laws relating to contracts and the consent given for parking on private property”, lawyer Andrew Williams of Adelaide-based Williams Legal said they “do not appear to have any legal effect ‘.
Lawyer Andrew Williams said the notice does not count as a ‘fine’ and will be prosecuted in civil court, not criminal court (pictured, a secure car park)
“I’ve never seen any of these cases prosecuted,” he said Yahoo News Australia.
‘Private parking lots have no legal force, so when you park in a parking lot, it is in a sense an agreement between you and the owner of the parking lot.
“So it’s up to them to enforce a parking contract between you.”
He added that if the notice of violation were to be taken to court, it would be in a civil court and not a criminal court, as only the municipality and the police have the power to impose appropriate fines.
“It’s like writing to someone who parks on your front lawn and saying, ‘I’m charging you $300 to park there. If you don’t pay it will go up to $400,’” Mr Williams said.
