The couple, Ricky Lee and Anna Lawrence, bought a caravan to sell food and organic drinks and thought they were doing everything right only to be ordered to move on by a council staff member.
The new time limit made it too difficult for them to ply their trade. They lost most of their income and Mr Lee has had to find other part-time work as a result.
Brooklyn Reardon, 21, bought a caravan off TradeMe and spent weeks doing it up. She says she checked many times with council about the rules and was repeatedly told to check the website.
Of course, the website was wrong.
She sold the caravan after a meeting with council staff in which she says she never even received an apology.
The council has unfairly crushed the entrepreneurial spirit of these people.
Firstly, why reduce the time limit in the first place? Mayor Stuart Crosby, in today's follow-up article, says it was because the council felt mobile shops should be just that rather than be allowed to stay at a site "for weeks on end".
One hour is hardly weeks on end and is very reasonable. I would imagine a 15-minute limit would make life difficult for mobile vendors, forcing them to move on just minutes after they set up.
I agree with councillor Clayton Mitchell - it is draconian.
It was heartening to see Cr Mitchell and Cr Steve Morris in today's story saying they will be pushing for a review of the policy. Good on them.
But putting the original decision and communications mistake aside, the council has a huge opportunity to make amends.
It should formally apologise and financially compensate these people for their losses.
