In an action brought forth by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Secure Parking has been fined almost $11 million for engaging in misleading conduct and making false representations to its customers.
Operating more than 600 car parks across Australia, Secure Parking has been one of the nation’s most well-known and trusted parking companies. From July 2017 to June 2022, Secure Parking’s ‘Secure-a-Spot’ online booking service faced significant backlash for claiming to reserve spaces whilst being unable to fulfil these bookings due to delays in system updates.
Despite being advertised across social media, email correspondence, and other marketing methods, ‘Secure-a-Spot’ was not a guaranteed service, leading to inconvenience and monetary loss across more than 10 million bookings between 2017 to 2022.
Secure Parking has admitted to making false or misleading representations to its customers, and has fully cooperated with proceedings and the ACCC.
Alongside the fine, the Federal Court of Australia have ordered Secure Parking to display notice of the ongoing case on their website, as well as conduct an internal review of the company’s process of handling complaints and compliance with Australian Consumer Law.
If you or someone you know wish to discuss this issue further, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 02 8999 9809.