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Facts and rumors

Posted by CellOPark on 12/02/2018

Late last year there has been a bit of negative feedback on social media which is based on many inaccuracies that were fuelled by parties with vested interests and certain agendas.

As many of the things posted are based on rumours and hearsay, we feel that it would be only fair to provide you with a very clear and comprehensive overview of the facts.

  • Rumour – CellOPark issuing fines that are too high and that parking officers are enforcing the parking too strictly.
  • FACT – CellOPark does NOT enforce parking. This is done by the parking operator (university/council) and at their sole discretion. CellOPark has no control over this process whatsoever.

 

  • Rumour – The Parking fees CellOPark charges are too expensive
  • FACT – CellOPark does not set the rules, rates and parking limitations. Those are set by the parking operator (university/council) and CellOPark has no control over them. In fact, CellOPark is the ONLY pay-by-phone service provider in Australia that offer an entirely free account wherever we operate and do not charge you anything more than the parking fees.

 

  • Rumour – CellOPark would like you to forget to start your session
  • FACT – CellOPark’s commercial model with the parking operators is transactional based which clearly means that it is in our best interest that you DO start your session.

 

  • Rumour – CellOPark automatically opt you in to the premium reminder services.
  • FACT – The premium service are, and always have been an opt-in feature. Yes, we do believe they are great value for money (and so do many of our customers) but NO, we do NOT opt you in automatically, nor do we force you to use them. In fact, when CellOPark went live at Curtin in 28.2.13, it was a requirement of Curtin that this is how it’s done (that the OPTIONAL premium services are an opt-in feature rather than an opt-out) and it has been like that ever since.

 

  • Rumour – CellOPark tries to hide the premium service fees
  • FACT – the premium service fees are, and always have been mentioned on our website, our T&C and our FAQ’s. The charges are, and always have been shown in the monthly invoice (in billing cycles when you use CellOPark and have an invoice) so we are really not trying to hide them in any way. Since early 2016, the fees are also shown in the welcome email we send upon registration and also if you upgrade via the app (there is a confirmation screen that states that fees may apply and what the fees are).

 

  • Rumour – you cannot opt-out of the premium service
  • FACT – You can, and always could, opt out of the service at any time from the home page of your online account from any internet connected device, such as your smartphone (using the same credential you use for the app) by clicking the ‘Downgrade’ link and confirming, or by contacting our support via phone or email, just like many other services such as LinkedIn, Spotify and more.
    There is also a direct link to access your online account from within the app setting.

 

  • Rumour – The CellOPark app crashes all the time
  • FACT – CellOPark has many external monitoring systems (Crashlytics/Fabric, Pingdom etc.) that clearly show that we average between 99.9% and 100% Crash Free users and between 99.99% – 100% uptime. Yes, we are not perfect but this is certainly within the highest range possible. Also, when that 0.1% of app users do experience an issue, it can usually be resolved quickly by restarting the app, and, we do get notified and we investigate and improve based on those notifications.

 

  • Rumour – if the app is not working, you cannot use the service
  • FACT – there are 3 different options to use CellOPark – You can use the app, your online account (at www.cellopark.com.au) and our call-to-park number from your registered number.

 

  • Rumour – Year long permits is cheaper and was a better system.
  • FACT – Many universities around Australia are moving to a PAYG based system because this is not true. Yearly permits prove a ‘licence to hunt’ and can end up with charging you even if you couldn’t find a space. PAYG has not only increased bay turnover but have also been proven to be a cheaper solution to over 85% of motorists who do not visit on a daily basis.

 

  • Rumour – CellOPark uses overseas services
  • FACT – CellOPark Australia is an Australian company, we use local hosting (AWS), local payment gateways, Local SMS gateways and local support personnel. We store ALL our data in Australia. Yes, we do use some online services that originate outside of Australia (such as Google, Facebook, MailChimp, SurveyMonkey and more) but then again, so does everyone.

 

  • Rumour – CellOPark does not care about their customers
  • FACT – CellOPark sees its customers as the most important part of the business and we always try to improve, listen to feedback and endeavour to provide the best possible service. If for some reason you feel otherwise, we would love to hear from you.

 

  • Rumour – CellOPark only takes and never gives back
  • FACT – CellOPark is the only pay-by-app provider in Australia that actually does give back to our members and the community. From small free giveaways such as pens, USB car chargers and car sun visors to FREE events like the Drive-in event we held at Curtin in Early 2017. CellOPark also donates to Road safety organisations. In 2018 we are currently giving away 6 CARS!

We would like to thank you for using CellOPark and we do truly appreciate any feedback and/or comments you may have that can help us improve our service to you.

 

If you have any questions, suggestions or feedback, or would like to discuss your individual case, please contact our support (support@cellopark.com.au) as in line with our privacy policy, we will not be disclosing specific accounts here.

 

 

 

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