'I'm disgusted' - Wilson Parking backs down after threatening to destroy Auckland nurse's credit rating over $2 fee

September 2, 2020

Greta Pihema swears she paid the initial $2 fee and has since been reimbursed for the fines she paid.

An Auckland nurse was left exasperated after a fight over a $2 Wilson Parking fee ended up netting her $114 in fines.

Greta Pihema swears she paid the initial $2 fee back in November 2019 when she parked on Grafton Road while working a night shift.

“I did pay the $2 on the day, with a witness that saw me put the money in the machine,” she told TVNZ1's Seven Sharp.

However, Wilson Parking disagreed and a “months long” back-and-forth ensued.

“I wrote to them three times and then they told me I couldn’t write to them anymore, but they continued to write to me and ask me for the money,” Greta said.

The nurse eventually paid $114.44 in fines after Wilson Parking told her that her credit rating would suffer if it wasn’t paid.

Wilson Parking have now paid Greta back, and sent Seven Sharp a statement.

“Wilson Parking confirms the customer entered her registration number incorrectly.

“Our customer service team has let her know that the breach notice she received has now been waived and will be refunded.”

Greta says she was never told about the registration issue, and the repayment's not the point.

“I’m disgusted. I can’t believe they would treat people like this. I said from the very beginning, ‘I paid the bill, can you check your cameras?’ and they just said, ‘No.’”

Fair Go’s Gill Higgins says if you find yourself in a similar situation you need to act “quickly and confidently”.

“Don’t go ignoring it because that’s just asking for trouble. You should write a letter or an email to the parking company, because you can take advantage of the New Zealand law that says they can only charge an amount that’s fair and reasonable.”

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