An outraged Aussie driver has unleashed after she was handed a parking fine in a private shopping centre in a major n city.
The woman was fined $65 after she exceeded the three-hour limit at the Galleria Shopping Centre carpark in Perth’s northeast last week.
The fine sparked a fierce debate over whether the shopper was required to pay the fine as the shopping centre carpark is private property.
The woman said she was shocked to receive the fine after shopping at the Galleria for over two decades in a post to social media.
‘Anyone received a parking infringement at the Galleria? I have shopped and parked there for 24 years and never had a ticket,’ she wrote.
Aussies were quick to assure the driver she wouldn’t have to pay the fine.
‘Don’t pay. They are not the police. Private security. Tear up and bin. Bloody joke,’ one commented on a screenshot of the notice.
‘You are not legally obliged to pay these sorts of fines, they cannot be enforced,’ another person agreed.
‘Check the back of it, it will say this is not a fine. I have never paid a Wilson’s parking ticket and there have been no issues,’ a third wrote.
A Galleria spokesperson told Yahoo News parking is complimentary for three hours and five hours in some parts of the centre.
They added there was clear signage in designated areas across the carpark.
The Galleria Shopping Centre website states there are more than 4,200 car spaces available for customers.
Defence lawyer James Clements told Yahoo News the woman does not have to pay the fine.
He explained only a statuary body has the power to issue a fine with the issue used as a ‘bullying tactic’ to scare shoppers into paying them.
‘Ignore it. Or write back and say, “I dispute this and do not intend to pay”,’ he said.
Daily Mail contacted Galleria Shopping Centre management for comment.