Tilal Abbasher was shocked to find a parking ticket on his windshield Monday after returning to his van in a lot at 102nd Avenue and 103rd Street.

He had paid $12 at the machine close by his parking spot and returned to his vehicle well before the two hours expired.

"I thought this must be a mistake, so I looked around the ticket and I saw a number there and I called the number."

He made the call, and says he was told everything would be fixed if he sent a copy of his receipt showing proof of payment. He did that too, but that's where things began to unravel.

The company, Diamond Parking Ltd., responded with an email pointing out he had paid at a machine that belonged to a different company, Impark, and the fine would stand.

"I called them back and I sent an email explaining the situation is confusing and the signage is not good enough."

It didn't do him any good. In email responses back to Abbasher, Diamond said its decision was final.

"Please be advised that there is ample signage on this lot advising drivers of the rules," the company wrote.

"Also note that as there is a second parking company within feet of our lot we are certain to post adequate signage to avoid confusion as we do not want drivers parking in our lot and paying a different parking company. At this time we will not be in a position to void your notice. Payments can be made at www.diamondparking.ca."

Diamond told CBC News their managers are looking into the complaint.

Abbasher admitted he made a mistake, but says even though he's taken that step, the company has not budged. He even offered to pay Diamond the two-hour parking fee he accidentally paid to Impark as a way to avoid the fine.

"I told them this is an honest mistake. Fines are for people who intend to trick the system or try not to pay, but I did pay. It feels like a trap."

If he pays the fine within 15 days the charge is $52.50. After that it rises to $73.50.

It's not the fine annoying Abbasher, but the principle.

"I feel like I was penalized for good behaviour; I've done the right thing. I parked. I paid for my parking. Maybe I made a mistake, but it wasn't a mistake to be penalized for."

Machine hard to see

While a chain-link fence separates the two parking lots, Abbasher insists it's not easy to spot the Diamond payment machine, which led him to believe it's all the same lot and he had no idea he'd paid at the wrong one.

"When you park you look for a machine to pay; you don't care about a fence, you just want to see the machine or see a sign for a place to pay."

His case appears to be a common one not just in Edmonton but across Canada.

Toronto lawyer John Weingust has made a name for himself fighting parking tickets of all types. His advice to clients hit with a fine from a private company is simple: "Don't pay your fine, throw them in the garbage."

But he adds drivers run a risk if they attempt to park in the same lot again, because "they can tow your car."

Here in Edmonton private parking companies rely on people paying fines voluntarily, lawyer Paul Moreau said.

"Most people try their best to be law abiding as much as they can, and the companies know that and they depend on that. That's why they try very hard to make their tags look like an official parking ticket, which it's not."

In fact under the law if people don't pay the fines on their own volition, Moreau doesn't think the companies would ever get the money.

"If someone chooses not to pay, it is unlikely that the parking company has any realistic recourse."

He believes their best option would be in the Provincial Court of Alberta Civil Claims Division.

"Their proper recourse in law is to launch a lawsuit and the cost of doing that for every offending car is such that they're highly unlikely ever to do it."

Moreau admits there could be a chance of being reported to the credit bureau, but says even if that happens people can argue they don't owe the debt because it's disputed and the credit bureau should then remove any entry from credit ratings.

"For clients I've represented in these matters, no one has ever had any adverse effects," Moreau said.

Abbasher will pay the fine to put an end to this frustrating episode.

But says he'll never park in a Diamond lot ever again.

gareth.hampshire@cbc.ca

@cbcgareth