The parking meters in front of Pacific Central Station aren’t like any others in Vancouver, and the technology that makes them unique is also making some drivers confused and frustrated.

Instead of relying on attendants, the meters use automatic cameras to keep track of scofflaws, and there’s no ticket on the windshield at the time to indicate a violation has taken place.

The Better Business Bureau has dealt with dozens of complaints in the last two years about the Minnesota-based operator of the meters, Municipal Parking Services. Drivers complain they’ve made momentary stops to let passengers out at the train station, only to get a $75 ticket in the mail a few weeks later.

Earlier this year, a woman wrote to demand her money back after she was ticketed when her husband, “stopped to check price/time at parking stall but noticed a free spot further down the road so went there to park. A camera took a picture of the car while he was out of the car checking regulations.”

The ultimate resolution of that complaint is redacted in BBB’s online records.

Many people have also complained about how difficult it is to reach MPS to dispute their tickets.

A typical complaint reads: “Their bill says to email them which I did 2 times and tried calling a number of times. They just keep sending bills without responding to emails or acknowledging receiving them. I did receive one automated email … and they never responded, only threatened in a 3rd notice to send to collections and charged a late fee on top of it.”

The company has also caused issues for many of the 15,000 members of Modo car share, according to marketing director Selena McLachlan.

“We’re seeing a huge increase in problems, because there’s no physical evidence that there ever was a ticket. It makes it even more problematic to dispute. You’re not aware of it,” McLachlan said.

The meters at Pacific Central Station appear to be the only ones of their kind in Vancouver, although MPS has plans to expand here in the near future. The photo meter technology was originally developed in Vancouver and MPS bought the patent in 2012.

Via Rail spokesman Maxime Dupont-Demers said the train company hasn’t received any complaints from customers about the MPS meters at Pacific Central Station.

According to MPS, the meter’s sensors register when a vehicle enters and leaves the parking space, and tickets are only issued when the car has been there for more than five minutes. When the bill arrives in the mail, it includes a photo of the driver’s vehicle stopped in the parking spot.

It’s not at all unusual for drivers to dispute parking tickets, but according to McLachlan, what makes MPS different from other operators is how difficult it is to get through to the company to complain.

To date, McLachlan said that no one at Modo has had any success disputing a ticket with MPS.

“It’s not that we’ve had a hard time. We’ve not been able to get through at all,” she said.