The Federal Court has today ordered that Secure Parking Pty Ltd pay $10.95 million in penalties for making false or misleading claims about its pre-book "Secure-a-Spot" online parking service, following ACCC action.
Secure Parking admitted that, between July 2017 and June 2022, it made false or misleading representations to consumers by using the name 'Secure-a-Spot' and when it represented in marketing material that consumers using the Secure-a-Spot service would have a parking space reserved for them at a particular time and date, when that was not the case.
Secure Parking did not generally reserve car parking spaces for Secure-a-Spot customers. The company admitted that sometimes car parks reached capacity and, in some cases, customers with a Secure-a-Spot booking arrived to find the space they had booked was not available to them.
"Secure Parking did not provide customers with the service it advertised, and it denied customers the opportunity to make an informed decision about which parking service best suited their needs," ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver said.
"Customers may have been seriously inconvenienced when they arrived at their chosen car park to discover the parking space they thought they had booked was not available to them."
"This penalty sends a strong message to all businesses that making misleading claims to consumers about the nature of the services provided can attract substantial penalties," Ms Carver said.
Secure Parking promoted its services to consumers via its website, direct email marketing and social media channels and its marketing materials included phrases such as, 'BOOK PARKING IN ADVANCE AND SAVE' and 'Book online for a guaranteed spot'.
More than ten million Secure-a-Spot bookings were made during the five-year period.
In addition to ordering Secure Parking to pay penalties, the Court also ordered Secure Parking pay part of the ACCC's costs, publish corrective notices, and review its complaints handling systems.
Secure Parking admitted liability and made joint submissions with the ACCC in relation to the penalty and other orders.
Background
On 5 July 2023, the ACCC instituted Federal Court proceedings against Secure Parking for allegedly breaching the Australian Consumer Law by making false or misleading claims about its 'Secure-a-Spot' car park booking service.
Secure Parking operates more than 600 car park facilities in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart. It is owned by a Japan-based car park operator, Park24 Co Ltd.
Secure Parking offers parking services, including drive-up parking and online bookings.
Secure-a-Spot was offered throughout the relevant period at 104 car parks in each of the cities in which Secure Parking operates. In June 2022, Secure Parking rebranded the service to Secure Parking - Book Online.
Screen capture of the 'Secure-A-Spot' page on the Secure Parking website
