CellOPark threatens legal action in ‘commercial dispute’ after email confusion

Parking app company CellOPark has promised to “take all steps, including legal action” to deal with confusing emails sent to customers amid what it described as a “commercial dispute”.

Motorists who park in areas where CellOPark operates – including Brisbane City Council and several Australian university campuses – received contradictory emails in the week leading up to Christmas about a planned changeover to a new app called OPark.

The first email, sent on Wednesday, December 18, told users their CellOPark accounts would be transferred to the new app.

The initial email sent to CellOPark account holders advised them about a transition of their service.Credit: Brisbane Times

A day later, another email was sent out, claiming the first was sent “by the local representative in breach of his obligations” and that there was no connection between the two brands.

In the latest email, on Monday, customers were told that “the court of competent jurisdiction has issued a temporary injunction prohibiting the transfer of users from CellOPark to O-Park”.

The third email to CellOPark customers, which said an injunction had stopped the transfer of customers to OPark.

A spokesman for CellOPark Australia, trading as Smarter City Solutions, Adam Slonim, responded to the developing saga on Tuesday, saying the company was “taking all steps – including legal action – to resolve this matter quickly and effectively”.

“That email [alleging that the changeover had been cancelled] was not sent with our authorisation and, after an urgent investigation, it became clear that this email was sent as part of what is now a commercial dispute about the transition away from our overseas supplier of the CellOPark system and an attempt to derail the transition using unauthorised access to our email domain,” he said.

Company records showed that CellOPark started in Australia in 2008, with current shareholders based in Sydney, Israel and Cyprus. The existing app is understood to be based on software developed by the Israeli parking tech company Cello.

Slonim said Smarter City Solutions was “in the process of transitioning from the internationally licenced CellOPark pay-by-phone system to our own fully Australian developed, owned and operated OPark system”.

“OPark offers a superior service and will allow us to continue to optimise and improve our offering for both parking operators and end users,” he said.

Meanwhile, users who have downloaded the OPark app reported that their personal details had been transferred to the new system, raising privacy concerns.

Slonim said there had been no breach of customers’ personal or financial information, but that the company would notify the Office of Australian Information Commissioner “out of an abundance of caution and responsibility”.

“In parallel, we are taking all steps – including legal action – to resolve this matter quickly and effectively, maintain the security and privacy of all data and to ensure there is no repeat of this activity,” he said.

The Office of the Queensland Information Commissioner said it had received enquiries from the public and was monitoring the issue.

It said affected customers must make their complaint to the agency they believe had breached their privacy first, and allow 45 days to deal with the complaint, before they could take the issue to the Queensland Information Commissioner.

The state-based commissioner has responsibility for Queensland local governments and their contracted service providers. Private companies may also be subject to federal privacy laws.

“The Information Commissioner encourages the council and any contract service provider to ensure transparency in relation to this matter, so the public are aware of how their personal information is being handled,” the spokesperson said.

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