Send this page to someone via email

An Impark customer is warning people not to depend on the parking provider’s text messaging alert technology after he says it failed him.

“This is an opportunity for people to be informed about what’s going on, and they should protect themselves,” said Jay Rogers.

The Vancouver resident says the parking provider put a dent in his festivities when he he paid for visitor parking on Dec. 24 while visiting family in downtown Vancouver.

“When I bought the parking ticket they had a new feature, and the feature was that at the very end of the transaction it offered me an opportunity to enter my mobile number and said they would text me when my parking was about to expire and I could actually pay by text, and I thought, ‘Great,’” said Rogers.

Story continues below advertisement

However, the Vancouver resident says he never received a text alert on his mobile phone.

Instead, he was hit with an Impark violation notice for $78.75. Immediately, he says he contacted Impark to dispute the ticket.

“I told her about the text feature and she denied adamantly that feature existed in this lot,” said Rogers.

Rogers sent Impark a screen shot of the text messaging option, but says he never got a response.

“You almost have to have the patience of a saint to deal with them,” said Rogers.

After phoning back numerous times, Rogers says he finally connected to an Impark manager.

“He said my receipt had a time on it and it was my responsibility to update my parking. I told him in good faith when you offer a service you’re supposed to provide the service and they need to live up to their end of the bargain,” said Rogers.

That’s when Rogers turned to Consumer Matters for help.

Less than 24 hours after Consumer Matters reached out to Impark, Roger’s received an email from Reef Parking, which is part of Impark, informing him the violation notice had been dropped.

Story continues below advertisement

The company also apologized to Rogers and fully acknowledged he was not at fault.

“They assumed it was just a defect in the technology and that I didn’t receive the text message and that they were going to basically quash the ticket and get rid of the ticket,” said Rogers.

“It just leads me to believe that they would have ignored my pleas had it not been for Consumer Matters advocating on my behalf.”

READ MORE: Ford owner calls for lemon laws after vehicle in repair shop for 16 weeks

Jay Roger’s says he won’t be depending on Impark’s technology and will protect himself in the future by setting his personal alarm the next time he parks.

“I’ll just cover my bases so I don’t have to deal with this again,” said Rogers.

Impark did not respond to Consumer Matters’ request for comment.