A B.C. man has launched a proposed class-action lawsuit in the B.C. Supreme Court against Indigo Park to put the brakes on what he calls junk fees.
The plaintiff, Hu Chun, accuses Indigo Park Canada Inc. of the unlawful practice of charging customers additional fees at checkout on top of the posted parking rates.
In the Notice of Civil Claim filed on January 9, Chun alleges that Indigo Park violated the federal Competition Act, the Québec Consumer Protection Act, and the B.C. Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act by charging class members additional fees on top of posted rates.
“‘Junk fees’ added to the price of a product or service are a widespread nuisance in today’s economy,” reads the Claims of the Plaintiffs.
“The Plaintiff, on behalf of the Class Members, seeks damages (including punitive damages), investigation and legal costs, a restoration order, reduction of obligations, and/or an interim or permanent injunctive relief enjoining Indigo Park from continuing to unlawfully charge users additional service fees.”
The Notice of Civil Claim states that Indigo Park holds business licences for 32 parking lots in the City of Vancouver. Indigo states on its website that it manages 1,000 locations and 250,000 spaces across Canada.
Two instances where Chun paid additional fees on top of the posted parking rates were listed in the B.C. Supreme Court filing.
In September 2024, Chun said he used an Indigo parking facility at Rocky Point Park in Port Moody. Though the posted parking rate was $0.75 for 30 minutes, the total price breakdown charged to his credit card included a convenience fee of $0.40 and a transaction fee of $0.01 for a total amount of $1.16, states the claim.
Just a few months later, on December 26, Chun parked at an Indigo lot at Canada Place and paid using a QR code. The court filing says the parking rate was posted at $4 per 30 minutes, but during the payment process for the two hours, he was charged an additional convenience fee of $0.40 and a transaction fee of $0.16 for a total charge of $16.56.
The proposed class action alleges that while Indigo Park “knowingly represented” first price parking rates at all of its facilities that include government taxes and the B.C. TransLink parking tax, the final second amount charged to users is higher.
“Indigo Park’s ‘convenience fee’ and ‘transaction fee” are not imposed by the government, but Indigo Park made them mandatory as part of each transaction,” the Claims of the Plaintiffs explained.
“The First Price is not attainable due to Indigo Park’s additional fees. Upon conclusion of the payment process, all of the Class Members are charged the Second Price, which is always higher than the First Price.”
Chun’s lawsuit requests that the B.C. Supreme Court certify the class action proceeding, declare that Indigo contravened the Competition Act, Quebec Consumer Protection Act, and the British Columbia Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act, and award damages.
None of the allegations in the proposed class-action lawsuit have been proven in court.
