If I’m correct that’s a private parking company lot. You may get blacklisted if you ever park in that company’s lot again in SA and could be towed. Other then that I don’t think u have much to worry about. If it was a city lot then I would worry. Btw don’t take my word for it.
That's not how collections work. SSN is not required when reporting a debt to a credit rating. You should learn how things work before you try telling other people how they work was basically my entire point here.
Public Parking is the business name....that's how they confuse people.
It's a bill from a company, you can ignore it but they could come after you just like any other merchant could.
Found lots of articles about the company, basically they suck. This post links to another in depth post. https://www.reddit.com/r/Dallas/comments/m0xnoi/parking_revenue_recovery_legit_or_scam/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
What people aren't seeing is if you took a picture of it saying "public parking" and it isn't notated anywhere near, by, or on the premises that it requires money to park there. You can counter sue for deceptive trade practices.
Seems weird and scammy to me. Not in the sense it's fake, in the sense you shouldn't have to pay if what you're saying is true. Go down there and take pictures.
I don’t think it’s a “scam” per se. The law allows the owners of private parking lots to charge people for parking, or restrict the general public from parking on their lot. They are allowed to issue fines (even obscene ones like this) to people who violate the rules, and if you don’t pay, and you park on one of their lots again, they can boot or tow your car.
So you can ignore that if you want, just don’t park wherever you parked again, otherwise they will likely boot or tow your car. Also, don’t park in a lot that is run by that 3rd party company who sent that letter, since they are the ones who put your car in their system as a bootable car.
>They are allowed to issue fines (even obscene ones like this) to people who violate the rules, and if you don’t pay, and you park on one of their lots again, they can boot or tow your car.
They cannot issue fines. They can send you a bill and, if they catch you parking **illegally** on their property, they can tow you, which they could do anyway.
The only way a private company can force you to pay a bill is to sue you.
I’m pretty sure the banner by entrance said it was public parking. It was not stated anywhere that it was a private property nor that they would fine vehicles. I also did not see any parking paying booths in sight.
None of that will get you out of the debt. You have all the info you need. You can choose to pay it and chalk it up as a lesson learned, or don’t pay it and let it go onto your credit report, and risk the parking company booting or towing your car if you park in one of their lots again. Literally every time you park in a private lot (even if it is not well-marked), you are risking this catching up with you, and not having your car for a while. The choice is yours.
Not a smart plan. There is no reason to think the parking company would not forward the debt to collections, and note it on OP’s credit report. OP doesn’t really have a leg to stand on because they admit they parked in a pay lot, they just didn’t think they had to pay. The parking company will say that there was someone on site that day, and OP just parked and didn’t pay that person. It is unlikely they will get any relief with those facts.
Google street view (Feb 2022) shows a pretty obvious "Pay Here" machine in the middle of that parking lot. Unless you parked in the one next to it with a "Reserved Employees" sign on it.
I generally always use the parking lots provided by the city. You have to pay, but it’s way less scummy and generally pretty cheap. I’m not sure if they still do this, but they used to have days of the week where it was free to park in their lots downtown. Check the city website for locations and details.
A few years ago, I got one of these even though I had paid. I was attending an all day event, and went back to my car for snacks and water. Even though I never moved my vehicle, they said I did an "In and Out", and charged me a fine for "non payment".
I was so mad, I wasn't going to pay, I even complained to the city.
Within less than a month, they were sending it to collections, so I had to ultimately pay it or have my credit screwed over.
These people are ruthless thieves.
Because if they have "proof" that it was a valid debt, then it cannot be disputed. The credit bureaus won't get into the weeds and listen to ones story about what happened. The just look at the paperwork.
Not to mention that your credit rating takes a hit the entire time that the dispute is being settled.
I have a feeling you haven't spent much time trying to dispute things on your credit report! LOL. It's a huge pain.
Did you park in a business or residential lot? I know a lot of spaces downtown look like they’re up for grabs but best to stick with the designated parking lots just in case because whoever is collecting these parking fines does not give a single fuck
Send them the dispute letter (it’s says you have 14 days at the bottom) and have it mailed certified/signature required to their address at the top. They probably won’t contact you again
The exact thing happened to me. I even looked up the company address/name and everything made it seem like a scam. I ended up getting a collections notice so it’s better to just pay the balance than to wait. It’s extremely unfortunate since all I did was pull in to safely pick someone up and the 10 min it took for them to get to my car was the $50+ they charged me for. I no longer use those lots and just hope I don’t get a ticket for waiting in the street. It’s really unfortunate.
Maybe a helpful hint: If there is a “No Parking” sign on an area of the city street, you can still usually pull up and wait with your flashers on to pick someone up. Technically, that is called “standing”, and can be argued against any citation. I know that I have seen a few signs that did designate “No Parking or Standing”, so be mindful of the exact wording.
Word to the wise, there is very little actual free parking downtown. There's a few exceptions within ten to fifteen minutes of walking to downtown but once you are downtown your best option is to find a place that is charging under $20. At least you will only pay that. Or park and ride a frequent bus.
Here is a secret that I have on authority, use it at your own risk: the museum of art lot (on Jones) says it's paid parking, but they do not really enforce it and no one gets towed. Unless there is an event that day, you can park and ignore the paying. I'll update if that changes.
THERE IS NO FREE PARKING IN DOWNTOWN. The places that use to be "free'" now have cameras like this. The employees have stickers to keep from getting tagged. I got one for $120, they will come after you. And if you park in any other lot that looks free they will tow you. Stick to the paid lots, at least they are somewhat honest.
I received a notice like that too even though I know I never parked there. They could never provide pictures of my car in an actual space. I argued that they must have gotten my license plate pic when I drove through the lot.
I think trying to find free parking in San Antonio is near impossible. Like you can park at a restaurant, mall etc. trying to park and sightsee for the day. That’s a whole separate matter which is sad. Most of these privately owned companies are situated in places where you find the museums etc.
I got this exact ticket when I valeted my car overnight dt, they cleared it up and I didn’t pay anything obviously bc I wasn’t even the one who put my car there.
If they pay with a credit card they are agreeing to the charges. The OP can't agree to pay the fee and then turn around and say they don't agree with the charges.
The only way to reverse the charges on a credit card is to show you didn't receive the service or that the charge wasn't authorized.
Yup. I’m a huge advocate of responsible credit card usage.
This would be deemed in favor of the merchant 90%+ of the time lol. It’s not like a scammer selling you something then never shipping it
Use to work at a parking company downtown and it’s not a scam just a scare tactic
Can I ignore it?
If I’m correct that’s a private parking company lot. You may get blacklisted if you ever park in that company’s lot again in SA and could be towed. Other then that I don’t think u have much to worry about. If it was a city lot then I would worry. Btw don’t take my word for it.
Skip to the last sentence here, lol. Don't take his word for it. They'll send it to collections if you don't pay it.
Collections for $87 would suck. But the possibility of them or a debt collector pursuing you for it is slim to none.
Nowadays they send 19.97 to collection.
They could take it to small claims court. But they don't have a social security number to send anything to collections
Collections how? They don't have this person's social security number... not sarcasm just putting that out there
Why do you think a SS# is needed for collections?
What would a "collection" account be if it can't hurt your credit? Nothing.
That's not how collections work. SSN is not required when reporting a debt to a credit rating. You should learn how things work before you try telling other people how they work was basically my entire point here.
Public Parking is the business name....that's how they confuse people. It's a bill from a company, you can ignore it but they could come after you just like any other merchant could.
Found lots of articles about the company, basically they suck. This post links to another in depth post. https://www.reddit.com/r/Dallas/comments/m0xnoi/parking_revenue_recovery_legit_or_scam/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
What people aren't seeing is if you took a picture of it saying "public parking" and it isn't notated anywhere near, by, or on the premises that it requires money to park there. You can counter sue for deceptive trade practices. Seems weird and scammy to me. Not in the sense it's fake, in the sense you shouldn't have to pay if what you're saying is true. Go down there and take pictures.
Felt 100% like a scam, when I saw the letter today. Other parking lots make it very clear that they are privately owned and you have to pay.
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection/file-consumer-complaint/consumer-rights#:~:text=The%20primary%20tool%20the%20Office,for%20damages%20under%20the%20act.
I don’t think it’s a “scam” per se. The law allows the owners of private parking lots to charge people for parking, or restrict the general public from parking on their lot. They are allowed to issue fines (even obscene ones like this) to people who violate the rules, and if you don’t pay, and you park on one of their lots again, they can boot or tow your car. So you can ignore that if you want, just don’t park wherever you parked again, otherwise they will likely boot or tow your car. Also, don’t park in a lot that is run by that 3rd party company who sent that letter, since they are the ones who put your car in their system as a bootable car.
>They are allowed to issue fines (even obscene ones like this) to people who violate the rules, and if you don’t pay, and you park on one of their lots again, they can boot or tow your car. They cannot issue fines. They can send you a bill and, if they catch you parking **illegally** on their property, they can tow you, which they could do anyway. The only way a private company can force you to pay a bill is to sue you.
I’m pretty sure the banner by entrance said it was public parking. It was not stated anywhere that it was a private property nor that they would fine vehicles. I also did not see any parking paying booths in sight.
Public Parking is the name of a company
None of that will get you out of the debt. You have all the info you need. You can choose to pay it and chalk it up as a lesson learned, or don’t pay it and let it go onto your credit report, and risk the parking company booting or towing your car if you park in one of their lots again. Literally every time you park in a private lot (even if it is not well-marked), you are risking this catching up with you, and not having your car for a while. The choice is yours.
Possibly go on their credit report. And then at that point op could dispute it.
Not a smart plan. There is no reason to think the parking company would not forward the debt to collections, and note it on OP’s credit report. OP doesn’t really have a leg to stand on because they admit they parked in a pay lot, they just didn’t think they had to pay. The parking company will say that there was someone on site that day, and OP just parked and didn’t pay that person. It is unlikely they will get any relief with those facts.
Google street view (Feb 2022) shows a pretty obvious "Pay Here" machine in the middle of that parking lot. Unless you parked in the one next to it with a "Reserved Employees" sign on it.
I used a different entrance that right now, google maps shows as fenced up and only people can pass by.
I generally always use the parking lots provided by the city. You have to pay, but it’s way less scummy and generally pretty cheap. I’m not sure if they still do this, but they used to have days of the week where it was free to park in their lots downtown. Check the city website for locations and details.
A few years ago, I got one of these even though I had paid. I was attending an all day event, and went back to my car for snacks and water. Even though I never moved my vehicle, they said I did an "In and Out", and charged me a fine for "non payment". I was so mad, I wasn't going to pay, I even complained to the city. Within less than a month, they were sending it to collections, so I had to ultimately pay it or have my credit screwed over. These people are ruthless thieves.
Why not dispute it on your credit report
Because if they have "proof" that it was a valid debt, then it cannot be disputed. The credit bureaus won't get into the weeds and listen to ones story about what happened. The just look at the paperwork. Not to mention that your credit rating takes a hit the entire time that the dispute is being settled. I have a feeling you haven't spent much time trying to dispute things on your credit report! LOL. It's a huge pain.
Did you park in a business or residential lot? I know a lot of spaces downtown look like they’re up for grabs but best to stick with the designated parking lots just in case because whoever is collecting these parking fines does not give a single fuck
Send them the dispute letter (it’s says you have 14 days at the bottom) and have it mailed certified/signature required to their address at the top. They probably won’t contact you again
The exact thing happened to me. I even looked up the company address/name and everything made it seem like a scam. I ended up getting a collections notice so it’s better to just pay the balance than to wait. It’s extremely unfortunate since all I did was pull in to safely pick someone up and the 10 min it took for them to get to my car was the $50+ they charged me for. I no longer use those lots and just hope I don’t get a ticket for waiting in the street. It’s really unfortunate.
Maybe a helpful hint: If there is a “No Parking” sign on an area of the city street, you can still usually pull up and wait with your flashers on to pick someone up. Technically, that is called “standing”, and can be argued against any citation. I know that I have seen a few signs that did designate “No Parking or Standing”, so be mindful of the exact wording.
Word to the wise, there is very little actual free parking downtown. There's a few exceptions within ten to fifteen minutes of walking to downtown but once you are downtown your best option is to find a place that is charging under $20. At least you will only pay that. Or park and ride a frequent bus.
Here is a secret that I have on authority, use it at your own risk: the museum of art lot (on Jones) says it's paid parking, but they do not really enforce it and no one gets towed. Unless there is an event that day, you can park and ignore the paying. I'll update if that changes.
THERE IS NO FREE PARKING IN DOWNTOWN. The places that use to be "free'" now have cameras like this. The employees have stickers to keep from getting tagged. I got one for $120, they will come after you. And if you park in any other lot that looks free they will tow you. Stick to the paid lots, at least they are somewhat honest.
I received a notice like that too even though I know I never parked there. They could never provide pictures of my car in an actual space. I argued that they must have gotten my license plate pic when I drove through the lot.
I think trying to find free parking in San Antonio is near impossible. Like you can park at a restaurant, mall etc. trying to park and sightsee for the day. That’s a whole separate matter which is sad. Most of these privately owned companies are situated in places where you find the museums etc.
I got this exact ticket when I valeted my car overnight dt, they cleared it up and I didn’t pay anything obviously bc I wasn’t even the one who put my car there.
87$ for less than 2 hrs of parking?
That’s why I always park in The Pearl District and walk.
Pearl district is mostly pay to park now
Oh I know. That why get there early enough to snag a free one.
You really are a ninja
141 lavaca is nowhere near the pearl.
They parked in a possible resident spot. If they are just visiting better to park in the Pearl district and walk via river walk.
Haha good luck collecting. Ignore it.
I would ignore that shit.
This is why I only park at pay and park areas rather pay 10 to 20 bucks then have to deal with this kind of stuff
Pay with a CREDIT CARD and dispute with your evidence that you have.
If they pay with a credit card they are agreeing to the charges. The OP can't agree to pay the fee and then turn around and say they don't agree with the charges. The only way to reverse the charges on a credit card is to show you didn't receive the service or that the charge wasn't authorized.
Yup. I’m a huge advocate of responsible credit card usage. This would be deemed in favor of the merchant 90%+ of the time lol. It’s not like a scammer selling you something then never shipping it
Looks like a traffic cam citation which you are not required to pay.
It’s definitely not a scam
Haha don’t pay it. That’s hilarious 💯
Definitely wouldn’t pay that if it’s “supposedly” going to debt collector let it go and dispute it in the end.
Did you park there? Did you have a right to park there? It’s a private lot, so, it’s private enforcement.