B.C. woman fined for parking in a lot she never visited

A B.C. woman says she was losing sleep after she was issued a parking violation at a parkade she never visited.

“I’m dumbfounded. I mean how do you get a ticket when you haven’t been there,” Lynn Duncan told Consumer Matters.

Back in March, the Langley resident says she received a parking violation notice in the mail from Precise ParkLink stating Duncan owed $100 for an outstanding ticket issued at a parkade in Vancouver on Feb. 9, 2023, and placed on the vehicle.

The licence plate number on the notice matches Duncan’s truck, but she says it’s a mistake. “I tried to explain maybe someone pushed in the wrong number or pushed in wrong digits on one of those machines or someone had transposed numbers, but I’ve had no response,” said Duncan.

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Duncan says Precise ParkLink has never provided her with a copy of the parking ticket or the time it was issued. She says that information is critical because she has proof she was at a Langley restaurant approximately 50 kilometers away the day Precise ParkLink says the ticket was placed.

In fact, Duncan says she even provided the parking company with the restaurant receipt and credit card transaction. “I have not heard from them at all. Then all of a sudden I get another letter – this is the final notice and I now owe $175,” said Duncan.

That second letter stated if Duncan didn’t pay $175 within 20 calendar days, the full debt would be sent to a collections agency. “I can’t fight this on my own. I’m just a little person in a big world,” said Duncan.

Consumer Matters contacted Precise ParkLink on Duncan’s behalf. The Ontario-based company stating on Feb. 9, a parker trying to exit the parkade used the company intercom system and reported they had lost their parking ticket and couldn’t pay. The parker’s contact information and licence plate were taken and the parker was allowed to leave. Precise Parklink says it will then contact the parker the next day to collect payment and if it can’t due to incorrect information then a parking invoice is created using the license plate number provided.

“In this case, the parker exiting the parkade may have provided a different phone number and/or licence plate number in order to exit the parking facility, resulting in us contacting Ms. Duncan.
We have since reversed the violation,” the company said in a statement.

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Duncan said she received an email from Precise ParkLink confirming it had voided the parking violation and no further action was required.

“I truly appreciate all of your help and everything that you did for me. I have actually slept,” Duncan told Consumer Matters.

Currently, Precise ParkLink has an “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau. The BBB states on its website the rating is based on the company’s failure to respond to 116 complaints.