News
Hundreds of distressed customers as well staff working in the South City Mall feel they have been unfairly targeted by a parking management company employed by the mall owner.
Smart Compliance Management has started monitoring the carpark for the past two and half weeks and pinging people with $85 fines if they parked longer than two hours.
Cameras have been installed and signs erected warning people about the new parking restrictions, but some business owners say the landlord has taken it too far.
Between 20 and 30 volunteers using the carparks over the weekend were ticketed and feared they would be stung multiple times, and other customers have told businesses they wouldn’t be coming back.
Glasines restaurant and bar owner Matt Smellie contacted whatsoninvers.nz this week saying that despite pleas from business owners not to implement parking management, the mall owner ignored them.
“For the first few weeks there has been chaos. The whole thing is it comes down to communication and this has been managed very poorly,” he said.
Business owners were first contacted by the landlord Sam Lee eight weeks ago about the proposal, and Matt said he emphatically told him it was a bad idea and would cause complaints that would affect businesses, cost them customers, and result in lost revenue.
“We have had customers calling us and blaming us for the fine and saying they are never coming back.
“Customers are complaining in anger and frustration at the fines…some are adamant they wont pay their fines.”
Four of his staff have already received $85 fines - one was a 19-year-old part time employee who was clocked at two hours and 8 minutes. Her shift was two hours so all up it cost her $47.
“When we talk to customers about the two hours, they are leaving before they normally would out of fear of getting an $85 fine,” he said.
Matt said the carpark was never full but he understood that management wanted to move people on that shouldn’t be there, which was fair enough.
He understood that the landlord wanted to target minor vandalism at night and the compliance company had offered to monitor the area and report any damage to police.
“But this is draconian. I have never had anything like this before.”
Pizza Hut Invercargill owner Sundeep Goyal said his staff had also been fined already for parking for too long in South City, and said the new parking restrictions were unnecessary.
“It is not welcome news for us. I can understand the monitoring at night time but not during the day.”
Sam Lee has been approached for comment but hasn’t yet responded. We will update the story as more information comes to hand.
