No signs, no parking meter – so what’s with the $70 parking tickets?

Consumer NZ has voiced concerns to Auckland Transport about the parks, which are all on a section of Hardinge Street in the CBD. We’re disturbed by the lack of signage and the amount of money those parks are costing drivers in fines.

Our investigation found Auckland Transport issued 190 infringement notices for the three carparks in 2024, costing drivers more than $8,000 – about $160 a week.

One of those tickets was for me – a fine of $70 for using a park for half an hour on a Saturday morning in November.

Auckland Transport rejected our pleas to overturn the ticket due to the lack of signage. When asked for comment, a spokesperson told Consumer the park met “enforcement requirements”.

Yet, since our concerns were raised, Auckland Transport has ordered a review of the parks. Then it installed a brand-new parking sign.

But it still won’t admit fault, or refund any of the fines.

Beware the Hardinge Street carparks

Located near Victoria Park, Hardinge Street is a short stretch of road providing access to the head offices of several major companies, including 2degrees, Zuru, media company NZME and the popular gym Les Mills.

It is a busy part of Auckland, with parks often hard to come by during business hours. Nearby parking machines charge drivers $4.50 an hour for the first 2 hours, rising to $8 for each subsequent hour, on weekdays.

At the end of the street, where Hardinge Street turns to merge into George Street, there’s a short sloping stretch of road. It’s here the three car parks and a single loading zone can be found, isolated from the rest of the street.

Because of their separation from the rest of the street, and the angle of the road, the carparks do not look like they’re part of Hardinge Street.

The other thing that makes them stand out?

For all intents and purposes, the parks look like they're free.

How I was caught out

I pulled into one of the three carparks on Hardinge Street on Saturday, 23 November, around 10am, intending to run some quick errands.

Aside from a blue 5-minute restriction sign for the loading zone, I could not see any other parking signs or a parking meter after I’d left my vehicle. So, I assumed the parks were free.

A few days later, I received a letter from Auckland Transport, advising I was being charged $70 for parking in that spot. According to my infringement notice, a parking warden photographed my car at 10.10am, and again at 10.26am, proving I had parked in paid parking without following payment requirements.

Yet, photos taken by Consumer in December show no parking signs visible for the carparks.

I’d always thought the carparks were free. Judging by their popularity, so did everyone else.

But Auckland Transport confirms it’s been dishing out tickets for those parks since 2014.

‘We have decided to proceed with enforcing the fee’

Consumer initially approached Auckland Transport to query why I’d been fined when no signage could be seen near the parks.

In response, an infringement adjudicator said they had reviewed the evidence and decided to “proceed with enforcing the fee”.

They said, “According to the Parking Officer's notes, the sign was approximately 61 metres to the rear of the vehicle on Hardinge Street, at the time the notice was issued.”

They suggested paying the fine within 70 days or the debt would be lodged with collection agency Baycorp.

So, using an Official Information Act request, Consumer approached Auckland Transport to ask how much money they were making on fines from the three carparks.

They said 190 tickets were issued in 2024, earning Auckland Transport $8,377.

John Strawbridge, the group manager parking services, said, “All of Hardinge Street, including the carparks at the far end, are part of the City Centre Parking Zone. The zone has been in place since April 2014.”

He also said, “Paid parking zone signs are installed and visible as you enter Hardinge Street and nearby Graham Street, and around the Graham Street/Hardinge Street loop.”

Strawbridge suggested we could have seen whether the parks required payment by using the AT Park app.

But he also said that, after Consumer’s concerns were raised, “[our] parking and design team will do a review of the signage in the area to determine if more signage is appropriate”.

Is that a new sign on Hardinge Street?

A few months after receiving my infringement notice, I visited Hardinge Street again while running more errands in town.

It was then I saw it. Something that hadn’t been there before and perhaps should have been there all along: a brand-new parking sign.

When asked if the new sign meant Auckland Transport admitted there was previously inadequate signage for those carparks, Strawbridge said the sign was installed in early February to “provide our customers with further awareness that parking spaces on Hardinge Street are part of the City Centre Parking Zone”.

Consumer also asked if I, and everyone else who has been fined for using those parks, might be getting a refund for our $70 tickets. Strawbridge didn’t respond.

Do you deserve that fine?

• The Commerce Commission says that when you park your car in a council-owned carpark, or on private land operated by a parking company, you enter into a contract with the council or company. The terms of this contract should be displayed clearly and accurately on their signage.
• It also says that if you breach the terms of the contract, by not displaying a ticket or overstaying the time you’ve paid for, you can be issued an infringement notice. The council or company must provide evidence of the breach.
• It says that if you don’t believe you’ve breached the contract – for example, if you weren’t driving the vehicle, never parked there at all or returned to your car before your time expired – then it’s up to you to dispute the infringement notice with the council or company.
• If the matter can’t be resolved, then either party can take the case to the Disputes Tribunal. It’s important to note that the council or company can’t send the infringement notice to a debt collector while the matter is in dispute.
• You’ll find more information about parking tickets, towing and clamping on the Consumer Protection website
• Find out how to deal with private parking fines