Christchurch man Bailey Smith, 22, returned from an extended work trip to find a number of notices from Parking Services Limited in his letterbox.

He had been issued a breach notice for NZ$95 ($84.53) for parking outside a Riccarton laundromat in March, and then charged late fees for failing to pay.

He appealed to the company to waive the breach notice, but that was dismissed.

With the help of ChatGPT, he fought the decision at the Disputes Tribunal, and won.

Smith said he thought the charges were “obscene” and the company was being “predatory”.

“They tried to ping me for parking there for eight seconds,” he said.

He said he fought the case because he had a feeling the company was in the wrong, but without the help of AI, he wouldn’t have known what to do.

The tribunal ruling said Smith claimed he pulled into the Kauri St car park and then reversed out again within eight seconds.

Parking Services Limited disputed that, saying a camera technician said he was on the property for more than five minutes, dropping off a friend to pick up another car parked nearby.

“The driver was trespassing on private property to use the car park to drop off a passenger, not to visit or use the business that owns the parks,” a spokesperson told Stuff.

Parking Services Limited supplied two photos to the tribunal.

“The photos appear to support Mr Smith’s position, that he reversed out of the car park very soon after entering it, presumably once he realised it was a private park with clear warning signs,” the ruling said.

The tribunal found Smith had entered the car park, but had not parked there.

“Accordingly, he is entitled to a declaration that he is not liable for the breach fee or any other cost.”

Smith shared his plight after reading Loren Phillips’ similar story of pulling into the same car park for a total of 27 seconds – a case which also ended in the Disputes Tribunal ruling she did not have to pay a NZ$95 ticket or any associated late fees.

So, was the parking company in the wrong?

In both cases, the Disputes Tribunal decided that although their cars had been in the car park, they had not parked there.

Therefore, neither of them were liable to pay.

A Parking Services Limited spokesperson said signage in private car parks served as a clear set of terms and conditions.

“By choosing to enter, stop or wait on the property, a driver is agreeing to these rules. Failure to comply is considered a breach and often leads to a notice being issued,” they said.

“This particular car park is in a high-traffic zone, and the business frequently faces issues with people using its private spaces to access neighbouring businesses. These actions directly impact our client’s ability to operate, as their business relies on having vacant spaces available for paying customers.”

The spokesperson sent Stuff four examples of Disputes Tribunal rulings it won over the past year, but none appeared to relate to cases in which the driver had been in the park for less than five minutes.

A NZ Parking Association spokesperson said its updated code of practice required subscribed operators to commit to giving drivers a “consideration period” to review terms and a reasonable grace period before taking enforcement action.

It said drivers needed time to decide whether to stay, and a reasonable chance to leave.

“These measures are designed to ensure fairness, particularly where a stay is very short, while still enabling operators to manage their sites effectively and consistently.”

Parking Services Limited was not a member of the association, the spokesperson said.

The Parking Services Limited spokesperson said parking enforcement was about safeguarding the livelihood of local businesses, which relied on private car parks to serve customers.

“Many small businesses, from laundromats to mechanics to beauty salons, face a daily struggle with non-customers using their car parks for purposes other than visiting the business,” they said.

“This includes using the lot as a shortcut, a U-turn point, or as a convenient place to drop off or pick up passengers.

“We urge drivers to take a moment to read and respect the signage on private property.”