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Westfield Chermside now complete bastards: Weekend shoppers to be slugged for parking

Weekend shoppers will be slugged with parking fees at Westfield Chermside, despite earlier claims the move was a way to stop commuters using the shopping centre as a public transport park-and-ride.

The retail group's decision to charge on weekends comes on the back of a warning from the National Retailers Association that more shopping centres around the state will introduce paid parking as the state continues to grow.

Despite the backlash against Westfield's decision to introduce fees for shoppers who stay longer than three hours, company spokeswoman Julia Clarke said the proposed system would be operating every day of the week.

Ms Clarke said the company would charge customers on weekends because company research had found those parking for longer than three hours were much more likely not to be using the centre for shopping.

"Certainly commuters are part of the issue with the parking but because we know that 93 per cent of shoppers get their trips done in under three hours there are still people weekdays and weekends who are there for longer for three hours for whatever reason," she said.

"So we know that there are going to be some people who will shopping for longer than three hours but those fees will be quite nominal, only a few dollars."

In another concern for shoppers, NRA executive director Gary Black said he expected more shopping centres in Queensland to enforce paid parking as the state's population continues to grow.

"Progressively, with population growth the stress on the parking facilities is increasing and spaces are less freely available so centres I think have had to respond to this and I think it is totally legitimate to focus their actions on people who are using these parking facilities who have no intention of shopping," he said.

"Ultimately this is a supply and demand issue and where there are restraints on expanding car park facilities it's inevitable that shopping centres will take measures to ensure that people are parking in their centres with the intention of shopping there."

Mr Black said shopping centres would not implement measures that would deter shoppers from using their facilities and affect their profitability.

Ms Clarke said there were no confirmed plans to extend paid parking to other Westfield centres around Brisbane.

SCAMwatch email alert: Beware of scams targeting VIPtel Mobile customers [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

Beware of scams targeting VIPtel Mobile customers

View radar online.

Added: June 2011

SCAMwatch is warning current and former VIPtel Mobile customers to beware of scam phone calls offering a refund in exchange for payment of a fee. Scammers may claim to be from Centrelink and will ask for the fee to be paid by wire transfer.

How the scam works

  • You receive a phone call out of the blue from a scammer claiming to be from either Centrelink, a 'consulting company', an unspecified government department, or a lawyer, who claim they have access to customer refunds from VIPtel Mobile.
  • The scammer will advise you that you are entitled to a refund, claiming it is the result of court action.
  • The ACCC has taken a number of court actions against EDirect Pty Ltd, which at the time traded as VIPtel Mobile. The ACCC confirms there are currently no refunds due to any current or former VIPtel Mobile customers as a result of these court actions. 
  • The scammer will ask you to pay a fee via wire transfer in order to receive your refund. If you pay this money you are likely to lose it all and will not receive any money or "refund" in return. Some victims have reported losing over $3,000 to this scam.
  • The scammer may already have some of your personal information, such as your financial or contact details, and may use these to make the scam seem legitimate.

Protect yourself

  • If you receive a phone call out of the blue claiming you need to pay money to access a refund, hang up immediately. 
  • If you're not sure that a call is a scam you can check by independently using official contact details, never use phone numbers or email addresses provided by the caller. 
  • NEVER provide or confirm your personal details over the phone unless you made the call using details you found yourself and you trust the other party. 
  • Where possible, avoid any arrangement with a stranger that asks for up-front payment via money order, wire transfer or moneygram. It is rare to recover money sent this way.  
  • SCAMwatch urges you to never pay money upfront to receive a 'refund' or 'free' money – this is advance fee fraud, also know as an up-front payment scam. 
  • If you think you have provided bank account or credit card details to a scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately.

Report
You can report scams to the ACCC via the report a scam page on SCAMwatch or by calling 1300 795 995.

More information

Stay one step ahead of scammers - visit the SCAMwatch website, follow @SCAMwatch_gov on Twitter or visit http://twitter.com/SCAMwatch_gov.
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