How much can they charge in a car park if I lose the ticket? Know the rights of the driver

We are regular customers of shopping centers and supermarkets, and to a lesser extent or need, of hospitals, airports and other private establishments. In each of them we are forced to pay for the parking service, the operation of which we sometimes do not understand.

Y es que pese a que lleva varios años vigente, muchos consumidores desconocen las implicancias de la Ley de Stacionamientos, la cual regula el cobro de este servicio en recintos privados, pero también raya la cancha respecto de los derechos y deberes de las empresas proveedoras y the users.

What is the legal form of parking pricing? What happens if I lose my ticket? Does the concession company respond in the event of theft? These are all questions to which we often don’t know the answers.

Thus, today we are reviewing Law No. 20,967, in addition to detailing the obligations of the driver…

The Parking Act establishes two pricing structures, the purpose of which is that users pay for the service actually used. Businesses need to decide which one to go for.

One of them is the fraction per effective minute of use. The second alternative is for a minimum duration of 10 minutes of elapsed time, the initial duration of which must not be less than half an hour.

Regardless of the method of collection used by the company, it can in no way round or approximate the rate upwards.

These requirements also apply to companies that manage parking lots on public roads.

In some cases, the parking service is free. For example, in clinics and hospitals when used in an emergency situation -and for as long as it lasts-, or when used by patients who have permanent or temporary physical difficulties in moving .

This is a significant step up from what used to be done when companies required consumers to pay for the full day or a flat rate.

In this sense, this law applies a criterion of fairness by eliminating the collection of a fixed rate or an amount greater than that which corresponds to paying for the time that the consumer has actually spent in the car park.

Thus, in the event of loss of the ticket by the consumer, it will be the companies which will be responsible for determining, after consulting their files, the actual time during which the consumer has used the car park, and will only have to invoice the corresponding fee.

The regulations establish that if the company does not take the appropriate security measures and a theft, burglary or damage to vehicles occurs, it will be civilly liable for the damage caused to the consumer.

In the event of theft, burglary or damage to the vehicle or to the consumer himself, it must be understood that the companies that offer the parking service have not adopted adequate security measures and, therefore, they must assume said responsibility.

Drivers have a great obligation towards the supplier who is pay for the service . Likewise, to use the service correctly, it is good to consider:

• Park accordingly, between the delimiting lines, remaining parallel to the vehicles on the sides.
• Depending on the enclosure you can park normal or aculado although for safety reasons they recommend parking with a rear seat.

• In covered or underground car parks turn on the lights, in many of them it is as if it were night .
• Drive very slowly and defensively, you never know when a boy or girl might appear running between cars. Some arrive excited, think about it.
• As in the streets, highways and highways, in the parking lot only people who have a driving license and know how to obey traffic rules can drive vehicles, because in a parking lot you can find the yield, the speed limits or traffic directions, among other signs.
• Do not double park or in a place where it is not activated.