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The reported parking enforcement company demanded between 80 and 100 francs from car owners for a parking violation. (symbolic image)
Christian Beutler/Keystone
The managing directors of a private parking enforcement company are to be charged with commercial extortion, usurpation of authority and unfair competition. They simply carry on under a different name.
Due to a "parking violation on private property", a private parking enforcement company demanded so-called "circulation compensation" from numerous people who had parked their vehicles in certain private parking spaces in Winterthur and Bülach without authorization.
The company demanded up to 90 francs on behalf of the parking space owners and threatened to collect the money and prosecute if payment was not made within ten days. The presentation of the 600 or so payment requests sent out was irritating: They looked very similar to the fines issued by the Bülach municipal police.
The business practices annoyed some parking offenders, partly because of the horrendous prices and partly because of the threats. The company was reported to the police, according to theTages-Anzeigernewspaper.
Following a house search in May 2022, the public prosecutor's office opened proceedings against the responsible managers in June 2022. Charges are now to be brought against the two bosses. The charges on the list are very serious: commercial extortion, usurpation of authority, unfair competition.
"The duration of the investigation has been delayed by almost two years due to several appeals that have been taken to the Federal Supreme Court," says Erich Wenzinger from the media office of the cantonal public prosecutor's office.
The company says: "The accusations are unjustified. It is and always has been legal to defend ourselves against parking space misuse." The company protects the property and possessions of its clients against people who do not follow the rules.
The company no longer exists. However, the two former bosses continue to send out redistribution payments - under a new company name.
