Disclaimer: This post is my personal opinion as a concerned member of the public and is for informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice. If you are the recipient of such a breach notice from a private parking firm, suggest consider speaking to a legal advisor or the Citizens Advice Bureau.

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In recent years, I’ve watched with alarm and indignation as remote private parking enforcement companies like Parking Services Ltd and Smart Compliance Management Ltd have gained a greater foothold in New Zealand. While I’ve personally never received a parking breach notice from either of them, what I’ve seen and what others have highlighted I feel raises serious questions about fairness, legality, and ethics.

If You Receive One – Don’t Panic

If you or someone you know happens to receive such a notice from a private parking enforcement firm, please don’t just pay it blindly. Here’s what you can do.

1. Contact the retailer Whose car park you parked at

• If you feel the notice has been issued in error, contact the business you were shopping at. They can often get these parking companies to waive the breach fee.

2. Request Evidence

• Ask for time-stamped photos, entry/exit logs, and proof of signage visibility.
• You have a right to question their claim under the Fair Trading Act.

3. Challenge the Fee

• If signage wasn’t visible or readable before entry, there may have been no valid contract.
• Write in to them stating that you dispute the fee (Important).
• Mention any reasonable circumstance (e.g., immediate exit, unclear markings, emergency).

4. Understand They Must Sue You to Enforce It

• These companies must go through the Disputes Tribunal or courts to compel payment.
• Most do not pursue cases where the breach is minimal or signage is ambiguous — especially if you stand your ground.

5. Highlight the issue publicly

• Please don’t just simply shrug your shoulders and forget about it. Hold these remote parking enforcement companies and their practices to account.
• As a consumer, urge retailers to carefully reconsider their business relationships with these companies.
• If these businesses refuse to terminate their business relationship to these remote parking enforcement companies, consider shopping elsewhere and letting retailers know the reason why.
• Mention your experiences with friends/family, on forums, with Consumer NZ, Consumer Protection, (MBIE)  Commerce Commission, or even contact your local MP.

Mode of operation

Private parking enforcement firms typically operate on private land remotely via CCTV at supermarket car parks,  “big box” retail car parks, and Multi-Tenant retail centers — where they’ve been contracted by the landowner to manage and enforce parking conditions.

They typically issue (often inflated) breach fees in the hope the registered keeper of the motor vehicle will pay up without challenging it and often…

• For people who drive in, realise they can’t stay, and leave within a few short minutes.
• For minor or unclear breaches (e.g., crossing over a faded line).
• With unclear or barely visible signage that supposedly creates a contract the moment you enter the lot.

It is important to note: These notices are not government fines. They are private, civil claims essentially alleging that by entering the car park and not complying with their terms, you’ve “breached” a contract.

In the majority of cases, the businesses (the retailers) who have contracted the likes of these remote parking enforcement companies don’t receive a cut of breach fee revenue.

Legal Grey Area

Unlike council or police-issued parking tickets, these private breach notices:

• Don’t carry automatic legal force.
• Are civil claims, not fines from a government agency (e.g Council, NZ Police, etc)
• Can be disputed.
• Require a court or Disputes Tribunal judgment to be enforced if you choose not to pay.

These notices often look deceptively official, use threatening legal language, and are sometimes followed up with aggressive debt collection efforts — all of which can intimidate unsuspecting people into paying without knowing or understanding their rights.

Final Thoughts

In other countries, including the UK and Australia, abusive private parking practices eventually triggered stronger consumer protections — such as withholding vehicle owner details from private firms and capping the fees they can charge.

Unfortunately, New Zealand is often slow to respond to these developments, and the Commerce Commission has, in my view, become increasingly toothless when it comes to tackling systemic consumer exploitation of this sort of nature.

I believe companies like Parking Services Ltd and similar operators should not be allowed to impose disproportionate penalties — especially in situations where a motorist simply turns in and leaves within a few short minutes.

Given the current regulatory vacuum, motorists must stay vigilant and be aware of these companies and their tactics.

All I can suggest is this: do your bit for society – push back against these practices, and start holding these businesses, their practices and their proprietors to account.

Resources:

• Citizens Advice Bureau NZ
• Consumer NZ
• Disputes Tribunal