Man in Malaysia almost charged S$460 in parking fees due to payment system glitch
Automated payment systems are increasingly common across public parking spaces, offering greater convenience for drivers.
However, technical glitches can still occur, sometimes resulting in incorrect charges.
In Malaysia, a man narrowly avoided paying RM1,469 (about S$460) in parking fees at a shopping mall in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah on Saturday (3 Jan) after the amount displayed on the payment terminal suddenly spiked without explanation.
Parking fee initially showed RM5
On Sunday (4 Jan), Facebook user Pak Meon said in a post that the mall car park uses an automated system that scans a vehicle’s licence plate to calculate parking charges upon exit.
Source: Malaysiakini, for illustration purposes only
When he first reached the gantry, the system showed a parking fee of RM5 (about S$1.60).
However, just as he was about to tap his card, the amount abruptly changed to RM1,469.
Source: Pak Meon on Facebook
Fortunately, the vehicle behind him was not too close, allowing him to reverse out of the lane and attempt to exit via another gantry.
At the second exit point, the system failed to scan his licence plate, prompting him to contact the parking attendant via the intercom.
While waiting, Mr Pak Meon reversed again and returned to the first exit.
This time, the system rescanned his licence plate and reverted the parking fee to RM5. He quickly completed the payment and exited the car park, fearing the amount might surge again.
Mr Pak Meon clarified in a comment that the incident took place at a shopping mall in Putatan, noting that there is only one major mall in the area.
He said he believed the incident was caused by a technical error with the payment system, adding that he was not upset as the issue could be resolved with some patience.
Man reminds drivers to check payment amounts carefully
Following the incident, Mr Pak Meon reminded others to always check the amount displayed on payment terminals before tapping their cards.
He noted that in some situations, staff may not automatically show customers the amount on the terminal, but customers should ask to verify it. This allows any errors to be corrected immediately.
Mr Pak Meon also warned that refunds can be time-consuming, particularly for debit card payments, as the deducted amount is taken directly from one’s bank account and may take several days to be returned.
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Featured image adapted from Pak Meon on Facebook.
