★Seeing a sign saying “Maximum 600 yen per day” and parking for three days → being charged 12,000 yen The pitfalls of high maximum charges at coin parking lots
When a coin parking lot sign said “Maximum 600 yen per day,” someone assumed it would be 1,800 yen for three days, but ended up being charged about 12,000 yen. The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan has stated that this was because the maximum charge was only applied once, and is urging people to check the detailed conditions when using the service. According to the National Consumer Affairs Center, the person in his 60s who reported the problem saw a sign that read “XX yen for XX minutes, maximum 600 yen per day” and used a paid parking lot in front of the station for three days, but was charged approximately 12,000 yen when he left. He immediately contacted the company and was told that the maximum fee only applied once, and that thereafter fees would be charged on an hourly basis.When he looked at the sign again more closely, he saw that this was written in small letters. According to the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, the fees are often subject to detailed conditions such as the number of times the maximum fee applies, the parking location, the time of day, and whether it is a weekday or a holiday, and special fees may also be incurred during the year-end and New Year holidays and when events are held. Even at parking lots you are familiar with, the pricing may have changed, so we urge you to check not only the large signs but also other small details before entering the lot.
The old man probably thought that the one-time only discount was written in small letters, but anyone who is used to using paid parking lots would probably recognize it immediately.
Payment is made within 24 hours. This time, if you repeat it twice for two days, it will only cost 1,800 yen, so is that the final answer? It will be removed within 24 hours on the last day.
It’s like a monthly subscription on the internet. After the free trial, you can try it for free again. There are ads and so on. I thought I could go for free again, but when I joined, I was forced to pay.
Nowadays, you don’t even need such expensive machines to simply say, “On what day and until what time do you plan to park?”, beep beep, beep, beep, “How much will it cost?” It seems like it could display something like, “After this amount, the next additional charge will be at this time and minute and you will need to pay this much.”
When I looked at the sign again, I saw that it was written in small letters. Even in mail-order listings for TV shows, there’s often some small writing on the edge of the subtitles.
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