Wrongful fines to editor Lorenzo Fulvi: Expose the brazen scam of parking lot tenants

Buses instead of ads

Then the shock after the party: another piece of paper hangs under the squeegee. With a photo of “my” car, professionally prepared and standing in the parking lot. It says in capital letters “You are parking in a private parking lot” – it feels nauseous. Note created by parking lot tenant Michael T.*. His request: If I transfer 60 francs to his bank account in a week, he will avoid reporting it, which in the worst case could cost me 2,000 francs (also interesting: a 1,250 franc fine in the blue zone).

My first thought: I will pay the 60 francs immediately and save myself a lot of trouble. I’m still suspicious though and call the local police. I was surprised that the friendly clerk on the line advised me not to pay the fine. Rationale: Unless there is a clearly visible sign on the building indicating a judicial prohibition, the tenant cannot make any claims. I’m trying to contact Michael T. directly, but the note doesn’t have any email address or phone number. Despite a long internet search, I cannot find the so-called parking lot renter. My suspicion is: This is the first time parking lot owner Michael T. has allegedly paid a fine and also didn’t give his real name to avoid legal trouble.

No crime without sign

I contact Stefano Rossi, lawyer and partner at Legal Partners Zurich. Rossi explains that one question is very important legally: Was a formal board set up with a judicial ban or not? “If you park the car and there is a judicial prohibition board, you are in violation of a judicial order under Article 258 of the Swiss Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) if you are not authorized to park.” In this case, Michael T. will be right and may file a complaint. However, T. can waive this while paying the compensation. “But without this board there would be no crime, so Michael T. has no leverage and an ad cannot be successful,” Rossi says. In short: If there is no sign on the immovable, there is no violation of a judicial prohibition.

Occasionally, a parking lot’s tenants will post small signs saying “Private” or “Reserved.” “But that’s not enough for a criminal complaint and such a fine,” says attorney Rossi. “The court ban sign must be clearly visible on the property”. However, it is generally not advisable to park in a marked private car park even if there is no possibility of filing a criminal complaint, as in the worst case there is a risk of towing or litigation.

Judicial ban costs money

Michael T.’s payment due date was over a week late and I did not pay the requested 60 francs. The threatened ad still has a long way to go. Legal expert Rossi speculates that I will probably never hear from T. again, as he also knows that his vigilante justice has no legal basis. If he tried to report me though, he wouldn’t be able to because he would have to prove that I had violated a judicial ban – which is not the case here due to the missing mark.

But in the end, many questions remain unanswered: How long has Michael T. been running this scam? How many drivers has he defrauded with this? However, without proof that my sentence was not an isolated case, it would be useless to file a complaint against Michael T.: My fine was not sufficient.

*Name changed by editors