A $3.50 parking charge can turn into an $89 fine but you don't necessarily need to pay it in full

Pratik Mehta thought heonlywas paying $3.50 for a half hour of parking at an Impark lot in downtown Vancouver last May.

Instead, he came away with bill for $89.25 foroverstaying by20 minutes.

"It's definitely outrageous and definitely arbitrary" says Mehta.

His oversight? Mehta hadn't seen the signwhere the small print notifies Impark customers they are liable for an $85 fee plus GST for violations. And the company's within itsrights to make that demand.

It's a common experience for parking infractions on private lots.A customer overstays their time in the lot.Anotice to pay looking like an official ticket is left onthe windshield.The cost seems highand the customer is upset.

What customers may not realize is that these are not official fines.Andif you don't pay,you won't necessarily be towed next time you park in that company's lots.

Mehta eventually paid most of the fine, but he thinks itwas far too high for hissmall infraction.

'Quite a steep amount'

Mehta, 47, a pharmacist fromAbbotsford, had beentouring friends around Vancouver when heparked at the lot operated by Imperial Parking Canada Corporation at200BurrardStreetfor whathe thought would be a30-minute stayto take photos at Canada Place

When he and hisgroup returned, he was dismayed to find a notice for $89.25 from Imparkon his car windshield.

Mehta did pay but not the full $89.25. The notice said that if he paid within sevendays, he only would be charged $68.25.

$5 discount

Mehtacalled Impark several times, acknowledging he was at fault for losing track of time, but asking if the company would accept half.He was told no, the best it could offer was a $5 discount.

"They said even if you were late by even one minute it would be the same amount" he said.

In the end, he paid $63.25.

"The amount is unreasonable" he said, noting the fee for afull day of parking at that lot is $34.

'There should be a limit'

"There should be a cap, a limit on this" he said.

Impark did not respond to CBC's requests for an interview by deadline.

Vancouver criminal lawyerPaulDoroshenkosays when you get a violation noticeon your windshield, it isn't an official ticket.

Instead you are getting notice from theparking company that you have broken a contract with it. By driving on the lot you have agreed to pay for parking. If you are late, the question is what are the "damages" the company is entitled to claim from you.

"You've got to think about what the actual damages are," he said. "The actual damages are the next hour of parking if you've gone over into that next hour by mistake."

Pay lessadvises lawyer

Doroshenko says when he gets a violation notice, he writes a cheque to the company for the unpaidtime he was there.

For example, he says that if he overstayed an hour, and the rate is $4 per hour, he mails the parking company a cheque for $4 with a letter saying that it is "in full and final settlement".

When the company cashes the cheque, it has agreed to the settlementandcan'tclaim you owe it money.

Former Vancouver city councillor Kerry Jang, who is a director of EasyPark, a parking company that is 50 per cent owned by the City of Vancouver, says Doroshenko just has been lucky.

City doesn't regulate

He believes that all parking companies including EasyPark will go after customers who have not paid the amount on the ticket. "There is still the cost ... of writing the ticket, following up with you, sending you letters,"he told CBC News.

"It's the deterrent factor.... I would not see them just settling it."

Jangsays the city makes rules about land use for businesses, but does not regulate the amount businesses can claim against citizens for breach of parking contracts.

Jag Sandhu, spokesperson for the City of Vancouver, wrote CBC in an email that "pricing in private paid lots falls outside the city's jurisdiction."

However, the city does have a bylaw governing towing from private lots. There is a two-hour grace period after the expiry of a parking ticket purchased from a machine at a private lotbefore the vehicle maybe towed.

Jangsays parking companies don't necessarily tow as soon as a "ticket" goes unpaid. The company often will wait until the file goes to a collection agency, he told CBC News.

As for Mehta, he says he will be avoiding parking at Impark in future. "Even if I have to walk a block or two blocks, I will not be parking at Impark" he said.