‘Ripping people off’: Car park mayhem in Mooloolaba as NYE bookings turned away

Well-organised revellers were shocked to be turned away despite booking and paying for a spot at the 700-space Mooloolaba car park on NYE, as thousands flooded the esplanade.

The Brisbane Road car park has 700 parking spaces and 54 motorcycle spaces. Picture: Patrick Woods.

New Year’s Eve revellers who had paid and pre-booked a spot at the 700 space car park on Brisbane Road were shocked when they were turned away on Saturday night, as the spaces had already filled up.

Sunshine Coast Council advised people via their Facebook event at 7.30pm on New Year’s Eve that the Brisbane Road ParkNGo Multi Story Car Park at Mooloolaba was at full capacity.

“If you have pre booked your parking online, this is not guaranteed and there will be no availability upon your arrival,” the post read.

“Please make alternative arrangements to travel safely into Mooloolaba.”

The facility is owned by Sunshine Coast Council, with the parking services being managed by Wilson Parking Australia.

Parking costs $2.50 for the first hour and is capped at $5 a day.

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Bli Bli resident Andrzej Ejmont said his family pre-booked their parking after they saw the suggestion on the council-run event page.

“As soon as we rocked up to the car park there was a guy standing out the front of it saying don’t go in,” he said.

“And I was like, what do you mean? We paid for the car park.”

Mr Ejmont said cars were getting stuck for up to 30 minutes and people were getting visibly upset.

“What’s the point of offering somebody something that is going to be easy, and then lying to them?,” he said.

“It’s not about the money, it’s about the principle. They were ripping people off and causing stress when it was supposed to be a fun night.”

Thousands flooded Mooloolaba Beach to celebrate the end of 2022. Photo: Elizabeth Neil

Mr Ejmont said he emailed the company for a refund but instead received an offer for a $5 parking voucher, something he wouldn’t use as he doesn’t go to the area frequently.

“I don’t care about the $5 but if they screwed the other 700 people over as well then that is a lot of money,” he said.

Emily Heilbronn said she was turned away when she showed up with her young daughter at their booked time of 7.30pm.

“I had to find an alternate car park kilometres away and my five year old was very upset thinking she would miss the fireworks,” she said.

“It’s only five dollars but they shouldn’t be allowed to keep that money.”

Ms Heilbronn said she had also had trouble securing a refund and had been asked for proof of purchase.

A spokeswoman from Wilson Parking Australia said they received 77 bookings for New Years Eve.

“However, due to the New Years’ Eve event, the car park did receive an extremely high volume of people trying to park on the evening,” she said.

“This was considered in advance and therefore the Council had placed two security guards and Wilson Parking also had two staff on site.

“We of course want everyone to access parking easily and understand the frustration it can cause if this isn’t the case, especially on an evening such as New Years’ Eve.”

They did not confirm if those who had pre-booked would get a refund.

The Sunshine Coast Council has not responded to questions about the situation and if they would be changing their processes around pre-booking.