So this morning I was given a ticket for $75 at a $2.50 lot. The same company tried to give me a ticket weeks ago when their machine did not print me a receipt but dismissed it as a "One Time Courtesy". Today I parked in the lot and thought my payment went through this morning but realized it hadn't at 11AM, at which time I paid through the app again. I got to my car and found another citation issued at 10:30AM. My question: should I contest again with the company or not pay the ticket? I'm leaning towards contesting it again as I will inevitably park in a Platinum Lot again. I am assuming they can't do anything unless I am parked in one of their lots. Thanks.
If this is a private lot then they have no authority to issue a parking ticket. They can have you towed though.
So I'm assuming they are not going to waive it given they just did for the other ticket. I did pay through the app 20-30 minutes after they ticketed me. I'll just tell them the truth -- that the payment didn't go through. If they say "too bad pay us now" should I then just ignore them?
If you never got a receipt the first time, that should have been a warning. Other than that, you'll have to deal with the nuisance of contesting it. If you have the receipt, and you were charged, there's no reason you should have to pay the "fine" when you contest it. Good luck, sir.
I'd ignore it unless they can do something to hurt your credit. You aren't headed to small claims court over that small of a number. Maybe write them a letter with a fee charging them for their app not working properly and wasting your time. People like humor.
Just to clarify -- I never got the receipt the first time but provided them with my bank statement to prove i paid. Today I made the payment through their App but it didn't go through until after they issued the ticket -- I'm technically guilty. I would just hate to pay 30x the amount when I really had no intention of defrauding the parking lot. Thanks for your advice everyone.
Damn, too bad you didn't notice until 11. The ticket was issued at 10:30 so now it will look like you got your ticket then tried to make your payment afterwards. I would just ignore it. I can't imagine they would ping your credit for a $75 parking fine.
Yeah. I realize it looks like I only paid to cover up the ticket. I don't think the company can ping my credit without proof that I was the driver. I would admit that to them if I were to appeal. Eh. I know this is kind of a joke but I really don't want to pay this damn fine out of principle.
I got a parking ticket on UT's campus one time on a Saturday... the buddy I was visiting told me they weren't enforced over weekends and to just toss it. UT ended up giving it to a collections agency who tracked me down like four months later after I'd completely forgotten about it. Not necessarily apples to apples, but I don't really like little things like that popping up later, so I'd contest/pay it... but that's just me.
So assuming they did want to, how would they? Other than taking you to court and getting a judgment, how could they list it on someone's credit. And if they did, what type of "proof" would they have to support their claim if you contested it? Personally, I wouldn't even consider paying it. But I'm curious about how they would try to collect, IF they decided to. I wonder if the university being state owned property made any difference.
This is a private company handing out fines for 30 times the amount of the transaction? Does this not seem unethical to anyone else?
I agree with you. I have heard that private parking companies can look up the owner of the vehicle and call that person to collect but only up to a year following the violation. I don't have any source of authority for that claim. It would seem that the only enforcement mechanism would be booting or towing your car if you choose to park in one of their lots later. I don't want to appeal with the company and essentially admit guilt unless I think they will waive the ticket -- which is unlikely given that they waived another one 2 weeks ago. SMH
FYI I checked the company's website and the only consequence of not paying is they will tow your car if parked in a lot. Platinum does own about 30 lots downtown so I may be better off to contest and pay rather than forget and be towed randomly.
It's a punishment and a charge, not a fee. I would love for someone to disprove this, but that is probably written somewhere on the fine print of the money station in the lot.
I believe it's damages for a breach of contract that you enter into with the company by entering their lot. It is not a punishment or a charge in legal terms as it is not criminal.
