A 54-year-old woman experienced a medical emergency, collapsing in a New World supermarket car park in Orewa, Auckland, on July 26. Staff quickly provided assistance and privacy screens while a stranger performed chest compressions until the woman regained a pulse. Paramedics from St John ambulance arrived and transported her to North Shore Hospital, leaving her vehicle behind.
Her car remained in the car park for approximately five-and-a-half hours, exceeding the 90-minute limit for customers. Days after her recovery, the woman received an $80 breach notice from the parking operator, Smart Compliance Management. Despite her family appealing the charge and explaining the circumstances, the company initially upheld the notice, reducing it to a $30 administration fee.
Smart Compliance Management's initial response stated that the vehicle was parked for 341 minutes, exceeding the allowed 90 minutes, and that the breach notice was correctly issued according to advertised terms and conditions. The family found the demand offensive. The woman subsequently paid the $30 fee to avoid further stress.
New World Orewa owner-operator Steve McClean intervened, contacting Smart Compliance to request the withdrawal of the notice and a refund. He stated that the supermarket uses a third-party provider to manage its car park to ensure availability for customers and emphasized the importance of applying parking rules fairly and with common sense.
Smart Compliance Management has since apologized for its initial handling of the case, acknowledging that its response failed to appropriately consider the exceptional circumstances. A company spokesperson stated that they have reinforced their processes and provided further guidance to their team to ensure consistent decision-making in exceptional situations. The supermarket ultimately refunded the fee to the woman's account.