A lot of parking tickets are bogus

At some point, most drivers have wondered whether they really have to pay parking tickets on private property—it turns out, probably not. The Toronto Star looked into the case of Jonathan Sutcliffe, who was hit with a $250 “parking invoice” from something called the Parking Control Unit after leaving his car in a Tim Hortons lot in Scarborough. The invoice looked like the yellow tickets issued by the City of Toronto, save a few details: the fee dropped to $25 if paid within 10 days or to $50 if made within 28 days, and there was no information about how to contest it. Sutcliffe did some research and took to Reddit with his findings. His police division told him to rip up the ticket, saying, “It’s a scam, take it easy and have a great day.” Apparently, according to Toronto’s bylaw, only municipal enforcement officers are allowed to issue parking tickets on private property. (The only exception is Impark and other lots that are clearly commercial.) If there’s a lesson to be learned, it’s Google first, pay later. [Toronto Star]