A Richmond resident felt parking at a local mall was a "trap" after he was issued a parking ticket for visiting the same mall twice in one day.
Samuel Tsui visited CF Richmond Centre on Jan. 6 in the late morning for lunch for around two hours and then drove off the mall property.
He returned to the mall later in the afternoon, around 3 p.m., to buy something he had forgotten. He returned to his car 15 minutes later and noticed he had been issued a parking ticket.
The ticket read "time limit expired," citing he parked more than four hours at the mall.
CF Richmond Centre, whose parkade is operated by Impark, has a four-hour parking limit.
Tsui approached an Impark employee who asked him whether he was at the mall earlier in the day. The Impark employee told him their "system only registers their car once a day" and directed him to call Impark's dispute line about the ticket.
"The person who picked up the call basically said it's how their system works and they can't change it," said Tsui, adding if they scan your car in the morning and they see it again later in the afternoon it'll register it as "having stayed over the time limit."
"They offered me a $5 discount and that was the 'best they could do for me.' It feels like such a trap for patrons of the mall who need to visit more than once a day."
The parking ticket was $98, but if paid within seven days, it's reduced to $86.47.
Tsui, feeling confused and at a loss - and not wanting to risk getting towed - paid his ticket with the extra $5 reduced fine.
"If the rule is four hours maximum daily, then Richmond Centre needs to make it clear on their signs," he said.
CF Richmond Centre told the Richmond News that "plentiful and convenient parking is a priority" on their property and the four-hour maximum is to ensure this.
However, they did not comment on their protocol if their customers find themselves being ticketed for visiting the mall twice a day.
Impark also patrols Richmond's Aberdeen Centre parkade, which has different hourly limits on different parking levels.
Tiffany Ho, senior vice-president of Fairchild Developments, which operates Aberdeen Centre, confirmed the mall has received some complaints about parking tickets, but not an "outrageous amount."
"Our parkade is patrolled by a third-party company called Impark and we have parking rules to ensure people don't take advantage of our parkade and walk off our property for free parking," said Ho.
When asked what Aberdeen's system is for complaints regarding revisiting patrons at the mall, Ho said they handle each complaint case-by-case.
She added there is no doubt people can easily exceed the four-hour parking limit at the mall.
"If you have dim sum in the morning, for about an hour and a half, and then decide to go to the salon for a perm, that already takes up the four hours, let alone walking around to shop," she said.
"We want customers to keep coming back, and as long as they have their proof of purchase at the mall, we are more than happy to help them dispute the tickets."
Ho said they do need the parkade patrol due to some people violating the rules, but, she added, Aberdeen Centre will do its best to make sure their customers are not punished.
"We don't want to penalize people for parking more than four hours if they are shopping at our businesses."
The News also reached out to Impark for comment but did not receive a response prior to publication.
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