Daylight robbery

P parked his car at the Cairnhill Place carpark today. We got in at 3.30pm and got out at 11pm. Our eyes popped when we saw the amount deducted from his cash card. It was a whopping $24!!!

We were both speechless for a while, like WTF! The moment I got home, I did a quick search on the Internet. Here's what I found:

Cairnhill Place
Mon-Fri
7am-4.59pm $1.50 per 1/2 hr
5pm-6.59am: $3.50 for 1st 3 hrs; $1.50 for sub. ½ hr

Sat
Same as wkdays

A simple calculation will tell you that we were grossly overcharged.

3.30pm to 5pm - 3 blocks of ½ hr x $1.50 = $4.50
5pm to 8pm - $3.50
8pm to 11pm - 6 blocks of ½ hr x $1.50 = $9
Total = $17

$17 is expensive enough as it is, but $24!! I did a quick search on forums and realised that others have been cheated the same way because an entry before 5pm did not entitle you to the "$3.50 for 1st 3 hours", i.e. you will be charged $9 instead for 6 blocks of ½ hr. Total BULLSHIT!

I'm urging P to call and complain, in fact make as much noise as possible. And we are definitely boycotting this carpark with its exorbitant charges going forward! In fact, I was telling P that taking a bus from my place to Orchard and back costs only $4 for 2 pax. And the trip takes 15min each way. We're 500% aware of this but we still persist on driving into Orchard and incurring ERP and parking fees every time! Bleh, guess we learn best through the hard and expensive way.