Loss or Damage of Goods in Parking Lots: Whose Responsibility Is It?

Legal Literacy - Lost items in the parking lot? Whose responsibility is it? Have Literacy Friends ever read the sentence "the management is not responsible for any damage or loss of items in the vehicle"? Then, is such a provision actually allowed? Let's take a look at the review.

Basically, the relationship between consumers and business actors in an agreement should be balanced. Both have rights and obligations that must be fulfilled. However, in practice, consumers are often in a weaker position compared to business actors. This happens because the products sold by business actors are usually very much needed by consumers, so the term " arises.take it or leave it".

In situations like this, the stronger party often uses clauses that release or limit liability in the agreement. This type of clause is known as an exoneration clause.

Before getting to the discussion of what an exoneration clause is, it seems we need to understand that an exoneration clause is part of a standard agreement.

What is a standard agreement? Several experts and laws have provided definitions regarding standard or form agreements. According to Mariam Darus Badrulzaman, a standard or form agreement is an agreement whose contents have been standardized and stated in the form of a form.

Sutan Remi Jahdeni defines a standard or form agreement as an agreement in which almost all clauses have been standardized by the party making it, so that the other party does not have the opportunity to negotiate or request changes.

Asser Rutten also stated that the person who signs the agreement is responsible for its contents, and the signature on the standard or form agreement form indicates that the person knows and agrees to the contents of the agreement.

According to H. Hondius, a standard agreement is a collection of written promises made without considering the content or topic, and is usually arranged in an agreement that is unlimited in number but has a specific nature.

Law No. 8 of 1999 uses the term standard clause to describe a standard agreement, where a standard clause is a rule or provision that has been prepared and stipulated unilaterally by the business actor and must be fulfilled by the consumer.

In a standard agreement, there are two main types of clauses, namely standard clauses and exoneration clauses.

A standard clause is a clause in a standard agreement where almost all of the clauses have been standardized by the party using it, so that the other party has no opportunity to negotiate or request changes.

Meanwhile, an exoneration clause is a clause that limits or even completely eliminates the responsibility that should be borne by the producer or seller.

In Indonesian positive law, restrictions or prohibitions on the use of exoneration clauses can be found in Article 18 of Law Number 8 of 1999 concerning Consumer Protection. This article prohibits business actors from creating or including standard clauses in any document or agreement if the clause:

1. States the transfer of responsibility of the business actor.
2. States that the business actor has the right to refuse the return of goods purchased by the consumer.
3. States that the business actor has the right to refuse the return of money paid for goods and/or services purchased by the consumer.
4. States the granting of power from the consumer to the business actor, either directly or indirectly, to take any unilateral action related to goods purchased by the consumer in installments.
5. Regulates matters of proof of loss of utility of goods or utilization of services purchased by consumers.
6. Gives the right to the business actor to reduce the benefits of services or reduce the assets of consumers which are the object of buying and selling services.
7. States the consumer's submission to regulations in the form of new, additional, further and/or further changes made unilaterally by the business actor during the period the consumer uses the services purchased.
8. States that the consumer authorizes the business actor to impose a mortgage, pledge, or security right on goods purchased by the consumer in installments.

The main objective of the prohibition to include standard clauses is to ensure that consumers have the same position as business actors in accordance with the principle of freedom of contract, which is the main principle in Indonesian contract law.

However, the parties are not allowed to make agreements that conflict with laws, morality, and public order. If a business actor includes a standard clause that is prohibited in a document or agreement, then the consequence is that the standard clause will be null and void. Violations of the provisions prohibiting standard clauses can result in a maximum imprisonment of 5 years or a maximum fine of IDR 2 billion.

Does the Cancellation Have to Be Through the Court?

If an agreement does not meet the subjective requirements, the agreement can be canceled. In this case, one of the parties may request cancellation of the agreement. However, the agreement remains binding on both parties as long as it has not been canceled by a judge at the request of the party entitled to request cancellation, such as a party who is incompetent or who gives his consent involuntarily.

Meanwhile, if an agreement does not meet the objective requirements, the agreement is considered null and void. In this case, the agreement is considered to have never existed and no engagement is formed.

Therefore, an agreement containing an exoneration clause does not need to have a cancellation lawsuit filed to court, because the agreement is automatically considered to have never existed.

If a Helmet or Motorcycle is Lost in the Parking Lot, Who is Responsible?

Article 1694 of the Civil Code Civil Code states that a safekeeping service occurs when a person receives an item and agrees to store and return it in its original condition. According to Article 1706 of the Civil Code, parking safekeeping service providers are responsible for returning the deposited goods in their original or unchanged condition.

Based on the aforementioned regulation, parking lot operators are responsible for motor vehicles and their contents. Therefore, the loss of helmets or even motorcycles is the responsibility of the parking operator, and standard clauses and disclaimers stated on parking tickets cannot be used as a reason to release the parking operator from their responsibility.