Parking pickle: Bangkok condo resident slapped with 20,000 baht fine

A Bangkok resident has been hit a hefty fine of 20,000 baht after leaving her car parked in the condo’s parking lot for 20 days. The unnamed condominium management team explained to the resident, named Jen, that a fine is triggered once a vehicle remains stationary for over 15 days. This regulation is part of the condo’s rules, which Jen found out about only after receiving the surprisingly high penalty on her return.

Jen was out of town for nearly a month. During that time her car was parked at the condo. Upon her return, she checked her mail and was astonished to find an invoice for parking fines. She sought clarification from the condo management, who informed her about the rule that if a car remains stationary for over 15 days, a daily fine of 1,000 baht is levied.

According to the condominium’s management, this rule is listed in the condo’s app, but Jen admitted she hadn’t checked it. She was then advised to write a petition to the management. Despite thinking that they might waive the fine as this was her first offence, she was disappointed when the fine was only reduced from over 20,000 baht to 10,000 baht. The amount, which she considered steep, remained unpaid as she took to social media to share her experience and question if others had similar encounters.

In the condo, each unit is allowed to park one car. However, Jen was unaware of the smaller, lesser-known rules like this one. After sharing her story on social media, several people commented that they had never encountered such a condo rule before, while others said they had but were not subjected to such an exorbitant fine.

Jen expressed her dissatisfaction, stating that she had not seen any clear notices about this rule or received any warning from the condo management. The issue sparked disagreement among other residents who wondered if they would also be subjected to the same fine if they were to travel abroad for a month, despite having paid their monthly parking fee.

Residents believe that parking in the condo should be safe, considering they had paid their monthly parking fee and were not parked in a prohibited area. Jen urged the condo management to reconsider this rule. However, the management explained that due to the limited parking space, they wished to allow other residents to park as well.

In related news, a Thai woman was hit with a 6.5 million baht (US$180,000) parking fee after leaving her car for just two hours at a shopping mall car park in Nonthaburi. Click HERE to read more.

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