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WHAT should’ve been a fun night out has turned into a parking nightmare for a concertgoer.
Patricia Schnepf was looking forward to seeing Pink at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
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Schnepf paid $58.30 to park in a lot nearby.
Her parking ticket stub validated her spot for “2 hours after event,” she told local Fox affiliate WXIN.
When the concert ended at 11:30 pm, Schnepf went to retrieve her car and left right around midnight.
But to her shock, she received another bill in the mail a few weeks later.
READ MORE ON PARKING TICKETS
“We got a parking letter that we had violated the terms and that we owed $82 to be paid within 30 days or they will turn it over for collections,” Schnepf told WXIN.
“I thought, ‘Well, we have a receipt so it’s no worries. I’m gonna dispute it. They got a link right here to dispute it. No problem. I’ll dispute it and I’ll walk away.’”
The bill, from Parking Revenue Recovery Services, showed Schnepf leaving the lot at 12:07 am.
But since the concert ended at 11:30 pm and her ticket was valid for two hours after, Schnepf didn’t understand what went wrong.
She reached out to PRRS to dispute the ticket – but only received a small discount.
“They declined the dispute and said they would give us a $20 discount but we still had to pay it within 10 days to take advantage of the discount,” Schnepf recounted to WXIN.
“And there’s still a five-dollar convenience charge for paying online.”
Frustrated by the situation, Schnepf reached out to WXIN to investigate.
The outlet found that PRRS doesn’t own the lot where Schnepf parked.
Instead, PRRS is a firm offering compliance services.
The company uses AI technology to track drivers’ plates when they enter and exit various lots around the Indianapolis area.
But upon further review, PRRS – headquartered in Colorado – has been in hot water in the past.
The Colorado state attorney general found the company was wrongfully charging drivers for large sums, WXIN reported.
PRRS settled with the state by paying $106,000 in fines.
But the trouble doesn’t stop there.
How to fight a parking ticket
You can avoid being ticketed by following all posted laws and ordinances, but sometimes mistakes are made
Like any form of citation, parking tickets are preventable by reading and obeying posted signage. However, when visiting a new city, or state, or in a hurry, things can be missed and mistakes are made.
Suddenly there’s a ticket you weren’t prepared to pay for. If the ticket is a surprise to you, there are a few things you can do to help your case when appealing a parking ticket.
- Carefully read the ticket. Look for errors like incorrect street names, license plate numbers, vehicle make and model, time and date, etc. Errors would then make the ticket invalid.
- Take photos. Of the vehicle in the parking space, lack of signage, or other vehicles that weren’t cited for performing the same parking job. If the ticket involves parking too close to something like a fire hydrant, a photo showing a reasonable distance would help your case. Make sure metadata with the time and date are accessible. Signs that are obstructed by trees, or are on bent posts, or aren’t “obvious” are great things to photograph, too.
- Make sure the statute that was violated is listed on the ticket. If not listed, the ticket is not valid.
- Promptly follow the appeal instructions on the ticket. All legitimate tickets will have directions for appeal. Waiting until the very last moment weakens your argument and can result in late fees.
- When in court, avoid these phrases as they reduce your credibility and weaken your argument:
- “I didn’t know the law.”
- “I was on my way to move my car.”
- “I can’t afford this ticket.”
- “I’ve been doing this for years.”
- “I checked with the parking officer, who said it was OK.”
- Contact a lawyer. If you’re running into roadblocks and feel stuck, it may be best to reach out to a traffic lawyer in your area. Many have free case consultations.
Source: Reader’s Digest
The company has also had issues in other states, according to reports.
Still, a PRRS spokesperson told WXIN that a different company gives them a parking spot’s expiration time.
In Schnepf’s case, that other company was ParkWhiz.
Ultimately, Schnepf’s bill was voided and PRRS said changes to the language on the parking ticket stubs would be made to avoid issues in the future.
But Schnepf isn’t convinced by the explanation given by PRRS.
“I think they are running a racket,” Schnepf told WXIN.
“I think that they are playing a numbers game and if you send a letter to everybody and a fraction of them pay, you’ve made a lot of money for the price of a stamp.”
The U.S. Sun reached out to Parking Revenue Recovery Services for comment.
