If you ever had thoughts of manually lifting a gate arm, this story will certainly change your mind. A man got a CA$2,900 ticket (equal to $2,100 at current exchange rates) in Canada for allegedly damaging the gate arm, although he denies he ever did so.

The incident took place at the Precise ParkLink lot of the City Square Shopping Center in Vancouver on March 11. As reported by Global News, the individual, called Philipp Postrehovsky, was taking his children to a weekly gymnastics class but the automatic gate didn’t open. With no one answering the assistance button, a line of cars waiting behind him, and one of the children asking to use the bathroom, Postrehovsky literally took matters into his own hands and tried to lift the arm by himself. The effort was deemed unsuccessful so he got back to the car and waited for the security to arrive and finally open the gate.

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About a week later and while he had probably forgotten everything about the incident, Postrehovsky received a letter, accusing him of “vandalizing/damaging” the gate arm, and asking him to pay $2,904.84 for the repairs. The ticked also mentioned that if the owed amount wouldn’t get paid off in 20 days, the dept would be sent to a collections agency, adding “an additional administrative fee of $75.00” for processing. Furthermore, the company Precise ParkLink Inc. said that if Postrehovsky didn’t comply, they would consider having his vehicle towed from parking lots or even ban it from entering certain premises.

Speaking to Global News, Postrehovsky said he didn’t cause damage to the gate arm which appeared to be in working order when the security arrived. On the contrary, Precise ParkLink says they have photos and video footage showing someone “damaging the equipment” but declined to publicize any evidence for “privacy reasons”. To be fair, there is a red “do not touch” writing on the gate arm but as the ticketed driver says, it is the responsibility of the company to make sure their equipment is working properly.

Whether you believe Postrehovsky’s testimony or not is up to you, but this whole experience sounds like an ordeal. Getting a $3k ticket for trying to lift a gate with your arms is not something anyone would accept without a fuss.

Photo credits Global News/Twitter