Moncton firm gives the boot to vehicle booting business

A Moncton business that used PSI Parking Solutions toboot improperly parked vehicles says it no longer supports the company's practices.

Stephen Gallant, president of Galco Atlantic Investments Network Ltd., said his business used the company, like other downtown property owners, to monitor and protect its parking spaces.

Moncton passed a bylaw regulating booting last year. While no companies are licensed to boot,the practice has continued with removal fees charged well above the $45 limit.

Moncton has said it has only received complaints about booting by PSI Parking Solutions.

"We're not using PSI any longer," Gallant said. "We're not in favour of how they're conducting their business."

He said he has tried unsuccessfully to reach the company in recent weeks.

Corporate records show the company, a partnership between Greg Kennedy and Dale Dixon, was dissolved on Oct. 24, 2018.

Kennedy previously declined an interview, saying he is no longer part of the business and doesn't know if his former partner is still booting vehicles.

ATracadie man was able to getback the fine he paid to Parking Solutions after an unexpected encounter.

Ren Benoit said he was booted while parkedoff Robinson Street on Jan. 11 and charged $100.

The next day he learnedabout a city bylaw passed last year, and the $45 limit.

"That night I kinda thought I was in the wrong, but I guess he was more in the wrong than me," Benoit said.

Last Thursday evening, Benoit happened to spot the man who booted his vehicle. He wasbeside another person's vehicle that was booted in a tow-away zone along Downing Street on Galco property.

Demanded refund

He approached the person, demanded his money back and said he'd call the police.

Benoit says the man gave him $150, which was$50 more than he had paid. He posted photos of the man and the money to Facebook.

Benoit then called police, but was told it wasn't a police matter.

He said he didn't relay to the man who installed the boot that police didn't plan to get involved.

He saidthe man removed the boot from the vehicle without charging the owner. Benoit said he didn't know who owned the vehicle.

Calls to a number for Parking Solutions by CBC on Friday went unanswered, as have emails requesting comment.

Cpl.JullieRogers-Marsh, a spokesperson for theRCMPin New Brunswick, told CBC police have not received any recent complaints about booting.

The City of Moncton is going to court seeking to have a judge order the company to stop unlicensed booting and follow the municipal bylaw. The application is set to be heard April 30.

Like many other downtown property owners, Gallant said Galco used Parking Solutions initially to protect its parking spaces.

Gallant said Parking Solutions approached Galco to monitor its small parking area at the corner of Main Street and Downing Street.Given its location near city hall, the library and bars, he said it often is used by people who aren't supposed to park there.

The spaces have signs showing they are for private parking.

Protecting parking

"We have to have some [way]to make sure our lots aren't [going to] be used by non-authorized users," Gallant said. "We have to make sure those allocated spots are available for our tenants."

In 2016, Parking Solutions told CBC it was monitoring 14private lots.

Gallant wants to find an alternative to protect the company's parking spaces, but said Parking Solutions seemed to be the only business enforcing parking on private lots.

He said Galco doesn't get any share of the boot removal fee.