Parking Ticket Question

[Doggydog]

This morning I parked in the Save-On Foods parking lot and walked across the street to go some where else. I guess there was some one watching me park and then saw me cross the street. When I returned to my vehicle 45 minutes later there was a ticket on my windshield.

The ticket is from a company called Diamond Parking Ltd. The infraction on the ticket say's "walked off parking lot" and it has the exact time that I left my vehicle to cross the street. The ticket amount is for $50.00 if paid within 15 day's and $65.00 if paid after 15 day's. I think that is kind of high for a little parking infraction, if it was $20.00 that would be reasonable.

So my question is should I pay it? or should I just forget about it and see what happens. Has anybody had any parking tickets from this Diamond Parking Ltd.?
I would appreciate any advice anyone can give me on this, and let me know what I should do.

Doggydog

 

[namssa]

You did the crime, you do the time.

Pay the ticket.

You took a chance, rolled the dice and lost, pay the ticket before the price increases.

What, do you think you are a special case and deserve special treatment?

 

[nd1]

Don't pay it.

Unless you park in a lot run by Diamond again, there is nothing they can do to force you to pay. But be careful though: if they catch you parking in one of their lots, they will impound your car and you will have to pay a hefty ransom to get it back.

 

[ChineseDude]

i must have gotten 30 parking tickets from private parking lots..i never paid, kept parking there. They can't, and won't do shit. The towing signs are just deterrents, they never actually call. They'll keep sending mails to you, just ignore it. City meters is another story.

 

[Sly Devil]

This morning I parked in the Save-On Foods parking lot and walked across the street to go some where else. I guess there was some one watching me park and then saw me cross the street. When I returned to my vehicle 45 minutes later there was a ticket on my windshield.

The ticket is from a company called Diamond Parking Ltd. The infraction on the ticket say's "walked off parking lot" and it has the exact time that I left my vehicle to cross the street. The ticket amount is for $50.00 if paid within 15 day's and $65.00 if paid after 15 day's. I think that is kind of high for a little parking infraction, if it was $20.00 that would be reasonable.

So my question is should I pay it? or should I just forget about it and see what happens. Has anybody had any parking tickets from this Diamond Parking Ltd.?
I would appreciate any advice anyone can give me on this, and let me know what I should do.

Doggydog

Next time, keep this in mind. If I would have seen the ticket on my windshield, I would have walked right into Save-On and purchased a jug of milk or dozen eggs like you were going to the post office, dry cleaners, etc and challenged the ticket. "I was dropping off a letter in the mailbox on the corner before I shopped and after I came out of SaveOn with my groceries, I found a ticket on my windshield." Also, make sure you read the sign postings and the maximum time allowed to park in the lot. I say if you are within the maximum, they cannot enforce the ticket.

Diamond Parking sucks ass as they ticketed me for not parking in a designated stall. I told them where I parked had no restrictions such as a painted yellow curb so I challenged their ticket. The company wrote back that they would cancel my ticket, keep my vehicle license on record, and if they caught me doing it again, they would impound my car. Yeah, right...

sly

 

[littleweewee]

don't pay

I would not pay it, I would rather change my LP since they are a private company and will not be able to make to pay. Good luck

 

[HeMadeMeDoIt]

Call Diamond and tell them you actually did walk into Save on Foods to pick up a prescription that wasnt ready. Failing that just ignore them since they have no way of collecting on that ticket.

 

[Pantherdash]

Call Diamond and tell them you actually did walk into Save on Foods to pick up a prescription that wasnt ready. Failing that just ignore them since they have no way of collecting on that ticket.

What he said.

DUH, they're not about to take it to court and try to prove that you didn't.

Panther

 

[DQ Guy]

well you could not pay it..
but it will come back to haunt you later in life.
I didn't pay a wack of parking tickets years ago..
then when I tried to re-insure my car not to long ago
the lady at the counter told me I had to pay all these fines before I could
do anything.. It was a weeee bit more then I had thought..

so yea. If you did wrong pay the damn ticket.

 

[silent_sam]

Diamond Parking

I agree with the one person. call them up.. tell them you went to do something else like mail a letter, etc. I have a feeling that there is no sign saying .. parking is for this store only.. so just tell them you went in after.
What are they going to do?? expect you to shop, put your frozen stuff in the car while you go mail your letter?

if they get uppity, ask how you can take them to court over it.
im sure they will cave right away on that line.

 

[Whackjob]

well you could not pay it..
but it will come back to haunt you later in life.
I didn't pay a wack of parking tickets years ago..
then when I tried to re-insure my car not to long ago
the lady at the counter told me I had to pay all these fines before I could
do anything.. It was a weeee bit more then I had thought..

so yea. If you did wrong pay the damn ticket.

That's a City by-law infraction ticket.

The ticket referred to by the original poster is a private charge from a private company for trespassing on their land, it has no connection to the government. That said, many parking companies send their private tickets to collection and by ignoring the ticket you will have to deal with collection agencies harassing you for the next 10 years. If you don't care, don't sweat it.

 

[Pantherdash]

That's a City by-law infraction ticket.

The ticket referred to by the original poster is a private charge from a private company for trespassing on their land, it has no connection to the government. That said, many parking companies send their private tickets to collection and by ignoring the ticket you will have to deal with collection agencies harassing you for the next 10 years. If you don't care, don't sweat it.

Exactly, except one small thing. These parking companies make MOST of their money off parking infractions, so they don't send the tickets to collections...THEY ARE collections. Their lot attendants make a small commission off every parking ticket they write, plus their hourly wage which is a little bit above minimum wage, so when they see you leaving the lot they're on you like white on rice. The collectors know how much people guard their credit rating like they guard their scrotum. Having said that, they will NOT place a red flag on your credit file because they don't have access to it. They only have access to your home address and phone number courtesy of ICBC. They will pursue it very aggressively at first and threaten to take your car away and ruin your credit rating, put you in jail, kick your dog, poison your cat, beat up your wife, kidnap your first born, whatever it takes to instill fear in you. But if you want to instill fear in them, tell them they'll hear from your lawyer and that you'll see them in court, as another poster mentioned above. That might be the last time you hear from them.

If you want to make sure they don't impound your car next time you're in violation in one of their lots (they can't impound your car if you're not in violation), simply change your licence plates. It costs $18 to do this, a lot less then the $50 for the ticket.

Remember these guys know how to play the game, so be one step ahead of them.

Panther

 

[chris2008]

We have roughly the same thing in Edmonton called Impark Parking. They drive around in their smart cars...I am mean, I sometimes feel like running them off the road. =\

Back to the point at hand though, I would call them and argue it out. Like the other poster said, you went to Save On foods after!

 

[westcoast555]

Ignore it, they can't do shit.

This morning I parked in the Save-On Foods parking lot and walked across the street to go some where else. I guess there was some one watching me park and then saw me cross the street. When I returned to my vehicle 45 minutes later there was a ticket on my windshield.

The ticket is from a company called Diamond Parking Ltd. The infraction on the ticket say's "walked off parking lot" and it has the exact time that I left my vehicle to cross the street. The ticket amount is for $50.00 if paid within 15 day's and $65.00 if paid after 15 day's. I think that is kind of high for a little parking infraction, if it was $20.00 that would be reasonable.

So my question is should I pay it? or should I just forget about it and see what happens. Has anybody had any parking tickets from this Diamond Parking Ltd.?
I would appreciate any advice anyone can give me on this, and let me know what I should do.

Doggydog

It's cheaper to get a few numbskulls who actually pay those things than to bother with the expense of having a towing contract.

Throw the ticket away and don't give it another moment's thought.

 

[Doggydog]

Call Diamond and tell them you actually did walk into Save on Foods to pick up a prescription that wasnt ready. Failing that just ignore them since they have no way of collecting on that ticket.

Thank you all for your advice, it was very helpful. I went with the above post, I called and told them when I came back from across the street I went into Save-On Foods and bought something. The person asked me if I have a receipt as it would have the date and time on the receipt and then they might consider canceling the ticket as it would be proof. I said no I don't, she said then unfortunately you have no evidence that you visited Save-On Foods so the ticket stands.

I guess it was worth a try any way's, I guess I will just pay the dam ticket and be done with it, and will not have to worry about it again. It's funny I have done this many times and never got caught, I guess my luck ran out. Well I learned a lesson here not to do it any more, hopefully some of you who read this will also be more cautious next time you think of doing the same thing I did.

Doggydog

 

[dunnochit]

Private Property

It all boils down to the fact that if you violtae the terms of the parking lot you are then trespassing on private property.
Seems to me, they could take one of a few paths:
1) They could try to take you to small-claims court, on the grounds that you agreed to pay the fee by entering their lot, and thus have breached contract; Expensive for them and not likely
2) They could try to use a collection agency, which might ding your credit rating, and leave you fighting it out with them; Diamond uses Wiggins Collections, but reporting a parking ticket is unlikely, since the burdon of proof rests with Diamond to prove you were parked there and not on you to prove you were not.
3) They could basically decide to do nothing besides write you nasty letters, and in the end just ban you from their property (and possibly tow your car for trespassing if you ever park on their lot again).
All of the parking companies keep a tow list, but to tow you without due process, simply because you owe parking tickets, is also not likely. However, get on their tow list and get caught not paying again, expect to pay a large amount to get your car out of impound.
My advice is to pay the ticket or stay off their lots. They see you walk off another lot of theirs and you are on the tow list, bye bye to your car.Cheers
D

 

[bcneil]

Not paying a parking ticket for $50 based upon taking the highground will, and does come back to haunt you. I've been dealing with cliets credit history issues for years, coming in for a mortgage or even a visa with a collections record in your past will automatically be a turn down, and the banks could care less if it is $50 or $1000. There are ways to get past it, by having someone who cares at the bank, but more than likely you will have to spend a few weeks fighting with the bureau to have it removed from your record. There is good reason people are protecting their credit.

And yes, I have seen collections for as little as $30.

Not meant to scare, just the way I see it. I also agree that you should bitch and complain, and go to the supervisors, office of the president, and why not just mention the better business bureau.

I have had several various collection agencies after me for silly amounts..
impark,diamond parking, ups, speeding ticket from kansas and a few more....
all under $100. Probably 10-15 different things.

UPS is the worst. I bought a small item off ebay for like $40 and they delivered it no problem.
A few weeks later I get a bill for $57 for brokerage and stuff. I know there is noway duty and taxes on a $40 item is $57.

It has NEVER come up when getting loans. In fact last time I got a loan, the lady ran my credit score right in front of me, and mentioned how high it was. I jokingly said "guess they don't know about all my parking tickets"

She just laughed and said doesnt look like it.

 

[muggs127]

Just tell that Diamond to pound sand up there butt. They will frame tickets to look like Goverment tickets. They are a private company and these tickets are unenforceable. They actually have to nerve to ticket people in the BC Health Care Facility in Maple Ridge when they (BC Health care) were promised 1/2 hour grace on all patients as you as a patient are in and out in 10 minutes max. I got one and handed it back to BC Health care. Never paid it.