The parking management company for a Richmond mall is considering updating its signs after a customer complained of a parking ticket that had them feeling "trapped."
In January, a customer visited CF Richmond Centre in the morning for lunch, drove off the property and returned about three hours later for 15 minutes to buy something.
When he returned to his car, he found a ticket issued by Imperial Parking, known as Impark, stating he exceeded the mall's four-hour parking limit. The fine was $98, or $86.47 if paid within seven days.
After being directed to Impark's dispute phone line about the ticket, he was told the company "can't change it" but he was offered a $5 discount on the ticket.
Impark has been in touch with the customer this week and offered a full refund for the violation ticket that was paid, according to Matthew Paquet, director of account management at Impark.
Paquet said they reviewed the customer service phone call recording and found the violation notice was valid, as the mall has a "strict four-hour policy" with "no in/out/return policy."
"This is due to how busy the lot is, and the need to ensure open spaces for mall patrons," he said.
However, mall patrons who want to return to the mall on the same day can register their vehicle inside with the guest services team, explained Paquet.
"In this case, our customer service team did not follow procedure and did not explain the rules and options to the customer. We dropped the ball here, and I thank you for bringing it to our attention."
Paquet and another staff responsible for managing CF Richmond Centre's parking lot will be making a site visit to "see if there is anything that we should add in terms of additional signage, etc."
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