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We may reduce a violation notice amount as a one-time courtesy if the validity of your receipt can be verified by a Customer Service Representative (CSR), even if the receipt was not displayed as required

"I didn't see the sign" or "I didn't know the rules" or "I assumed it was free parking for the store; in the evening; on the weekend; without an attendant; etc."

All of our locations have signs clearly indicating what is required to obtain permission to park. Many of our signs even include explanations in different languages, in accordance with the facility location and patronage.

The parking customer must accept the responsibility of reading the terms and conditions before leaving their vehicle on private property.

Violation notice amounts are not reduced or cancelled in these situations.

"I should only have to pay the posted parking rates."

If someone parks at one of our facilities without permission, but as a consequence only has to pay the posted hourly rate for the amount of time they parked, then there would be no incentive to pay for parking in the first place.

Furthermore, we would never recover our costs for patrolling lots and issuing violation notices.

As explained above, the terms and conditions of your contract with us (including the violation fees) are posted on our lot signs and the amount owing to Impark is a collectible debt.

"I was only a few minutes late."

When pre-paying for parking, it may be difficult to return to your vehicle before your time expires. But as with any street meter, if your time has expired then the parking conditions have been violated.
Although the violation notice may have been issued only minutes after the meter ticket expired, that is not necessarily the time that the customer returned to the vehicle nor the time that the vehicle was driven off the lot to make way for a paying customer.
In these situations we will not cancel a violation notice but we may accept a reduced payment as a one-time courtesy, depending on how long the receipt has been expired and the other circumstances surrounding the expiry

"I was just running for change."

Every time a vehicle is on the lot without a valid receipt or pass displayed on the dash, it is parked in violation.

It is virtually impossible for our patrollers or Customer Service Representatives (CSR's) to determine whether or not a parking customer was running for change.

We do what we can to help: many of our machines are equipped to take any combination of coins as well as credit cards. Nevertheless, whenever you are driving to an area where there is pay parking, it is your responsibility to be prepared to pay.

If you find yourself without proper change but are able to find it within a minute or two, do so and then purchase a receipt upon your return.

Upon verification of your receipt, a CSR may reduce the violation payment required

"I have a parking pass."

As with any hourly or daily parking receipt, passes which pre-authorize parking must be displayed clearly and face up on the dash or hanging from the rear view mirror.

Monthly parking customers who purchase passes from our local office must sign a contract stating that they are responsible for any violation notice or towing charges incurred due to failure to display the pass.

As a one-time courtesy, we may reduce a violation notice if the validity of the pass can be verified by a CSR, even if the pass was not displayed as required.

"The machine wasn't working."

If you park at a facility where the receipt dispenser does not seem to be working properly, our signs or a decal on the machine will direct you to notify us by telephone immediately and a Meter Technician will be dispatched to the site.

"Why are your Violation Notices so expensive?"

The amount charged on our violation notices is a genuine estimate of a portion of our costs for:

patrolling lots
enforcing our parking regulations
preliminary collection activities

We must pay for the employees and equipment (including vehicles, gas, uniforms, and computers) needed to:

patrol lots
issue violation notices
follow up on unpaid notices

As mentioned, the amount charged on a violation notice is reduced if paid within a specified time period.

If it is not paid promptly, we must incur additional collection costs. For example, each province charges a fee to search licence plate information.

There are also increased administration costs such as postage, invoice production and staff time.
In most cases, our violation amounts are comparable to the fines imposed by municipalities for by-law infractions. Remember that city-owned parking lots and street parking meters (and their employees and administration costs) are funded and maintained with tax dollars, and municipalities do not have to pay for access to vehicle records information.

We are a private company and do not receive any tax funding, yet we strive to provide the same if not greater standards of enforcement service.

"Why don't you just tow vehicles?"

Towing can be very costly and inconvenient for the vehicle owner. We reserve the right to tow any vehicle parked without permission but generally resort to doing so primarily for:

overdue violation notices
parking in a reserved stall
blocking another vehicle
parking in a disabled stall without displaying a valid disabled pass
parking in a hazardous way

As an alternative to towing, our violation notices allow us to be flexible when the situation requires it.

"What will happen if I don't pay a violation notice?"

If the debt owed to us is not paid, the matter will be referred to a collection agency.

If your vehicle is again parked on one of our lots without a valid receipt or pass, it may be towed.

We also reserve the right to:

sue you in court for the unpaid debt
take any other legal action to which we are entitled

"How did you get my name and address and what do you do with this information?"

Pay parking operators adhering to appropriate confidentiality standards are entitled to paid access to provincial vehicle ownership records.

Our access agreement permits us, based on licence plates, to obtain basic information on vehicle owners, including:

name
address

This arrangement is permitted by the applicable freedom of information and personal privacy laws in your province of residence.

The personal information obtained is:

strictly controlled
accessible only by certain trained and approved employees of Impark

The information may only be used for the specific purposes of:

following up on outstanding violation notices
initiating a lawsuit (if necessary)

We do not provide this information to any third parties other than Canada Post (for mailing purposes) and certain debt collection agencies. These collection agencies are held to strict confidentiality standards outlined in provincial debt collection legislation.

Impark's compliance with the usage, security and confidentiality provisions of our access agreements with the provinces is periodically audited by the applicable regulatory authorities.