Those who illegally increase fees for parking will be fined or have their licences withdrawn, according to Tran Dang Hai, deputy chief inspector of the city’s Department of Transport.

The hotline numbers 0913211997 and 0913506436 have been set up so that residents can report those who inflate prices over the holidays.

Fine levels would be determined by the Department of Finance, Hai said.

As regulated, the parking fee for motorbikes is 2,000 VND (0.1 USD). However, typically over Tet as much as 10,000 VND (0.5 USD) is charged around Vincom Towers on Ba Trieu street .

Prices are also hiked around Dong Xuan Market, where motorcycle owners are typically asked to pay 8,000 VND-10,000 VND.

Along Hang Ngang and Hang Dao streets, the price is usually 5,000 VND.

“It’s the Tet holiday, so I don’t want to argue about it. Moreover we are charged the same fee at every parking place over the holiday,” said Doan Thi Thuan, a resident of Hanoi .

It is a similar problem in HCM City .

Mai Thi Le, a shopper at Thai Binh Market, said parking fees always rose over Tet.

“I just accept it”, she said.

An inspector in Ben Nghe Ward in district 1 said that local authorities had fined a parking place owner twice for violating the regulation.

“Unless people call us at the very time they are charged more than regulated, we can do nothing when the owner of the parking place denies the fact,” he said.

Tran Van Nam, chief inspector of the Finance Department in HCM City , said the authority would suggest that volunteer youth teams monitor the situation./.