Parking ticket pulled, but 65 euros punishment: Cologne rip -off exposes!

Parking ticket pulled, but 65 euros punishment: Cologne rip -off exposes!

Leonie Fischer, 25 years old and from Leverkusen, recently had an unexpected experience that many drivers in Cologne city center should be familiar with. At Felix-Rexhausen-Platz, very close to the Breslauer Platz, she parked her car and pulled a ticket for an hour. When she returned, however, she found that she had received a ticket of 65 euros for a "foreign parking ticket". The parking lot is managed by Contipark, a German railway service provider, while there are public parking spaces in the city of Cologne. So it could not have been different for Fischer than that the fees and operators cause a clear lack of understanding.

As also report similar users on Google Maps, this seems to become a kind of “rip -off”. The city of Cologne has already reached the complaint. A spokesman confirmed that the problem of the lack of labeling has been known for two years and refers to a small sticker at the municipal machine, which is often overlooked or is removed. However, with a pointy plate above the parking machine, Contipark seems to not consider any further measures to be necessary. Customers are frustrated: the misunderstandings regarding operator conditions are apparently a problem that should not be underestimated.

visibility of the parking conditions

Leonie has already contradicted the criminal ticket and does not want to pay the 65 euros. Their success now depends on the visibility of the parking conditions. Because parking providers are obliged to present the rules transparently and clearly. And that is probably not the case in this case. The city of Cologne is examining opportunities to improve the parking Situation, but there have been no real progress for two years.

Contipark is active in many large cities in Germany and runs almost 120 parking garages near train stations and other heavily frequented locations. The latest reports show that the consumer advice centers have already taken legal steps against the company because of the excessive demands that are issued to the parking lot in Cologne. In addition, a judgment by the Berlin Regional Court confirmed that the threat of punishments, such as parking claws or towing measures, is considered disproportionate. Contipark must therefore no longer request such monetary claims and must delete the corresponding clauses, as Test.de reports.

legal situation and consumer rights

Further insights into the legal situation in excessive parking fees are available in an interview with lawyer Reime, who notes that drivers can legally act against such fees. In addition, many customers complain of inadmissible contractual penalties if they have only parked for a few minutes beyond the booked parking time. The Baden-Württemberg Consumer Center observes similar phenomena here and takes the topic seriously. Various legal options are available to consumers in order to proceed against inadmissible fees, as described in the [Consumer Protection Forum] (https:// consumer protection forum.berlin/2025-01-21/InterView-recht-reime-ueber-UeBe-und-lechtliche-moegikatten-345826/).

The topic of parking fees not only employs Cologne citizens in relation to Leonie Fischer's case, but also causes a broader discourse on transparency and fairness in dealing with parking spaces. While the city of Cologne and Contipark are looking for solutions, it remains to be seen how the situation for drivers will develop.