Central Parking System of Tennessee

On 8/17/2013 I paid for a parking space using my [redacted] card. Central parking left me a ticket for $70 claiming I did not pay for the parkinOn 8/17/2014 I parked at a central parking lot on front street in downtown memphis. The fee was $7.00 and I used my [redacted] card to pay for it. When I came back to my car there was a ticket for $70 claiming I did not pay because there was not a receipt on the dash. I received a collection letter claiming I owed the $70. I sent an email to the attorney on the letter stating I have a receipt showing I paid the parking at the time of use. They were not interested, all they wanted was for me to pay an additional $70.00. This appears to be a common deceptive practice with central parking. It appears to be a scam to make customers pay fines for not following "instructions" reference # is XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXDesired SettlementWithdraw the $70.00 claim. I have receipt of payment for use of parking space for $7.00Business Response Contact Name and Title: [redacted] -RMContact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXXContact Email: [redacted]@spplus.comI will investigate this citation number to determine why the citation was issued. I will void all charges since several months have passed since the violation was given and all of the details may not be available. It is our practice to give citations to any vehicle that does not have proof of payment displayed, however, from time to time mistakes are made. Please let the customer know that the citation will be removed and we will resolve the matter internally so that future customers do not encounter the same problem

I overpaid to park and was later sent a bill for an additional $52.00On 12/19/2012 I parked at Central Parking. There was no attendant but there was a kiosk with a key pad instead. On the machine, written very large, were the words, exact change only. The kiosk prompt instructed me to enter my name and liscense plate number. I knew I wouldn't get change so I overpaid. When I returned to my truck there was a notice on my truck staing that I didn't display my receipt so I owed $52.00. That is ridiculous!!! I am certian that the amount I paid has been noted in the kiosk. I just received a collection notice from a law firm. I think this is a nuisance fee. Desired SettlementI want my bogus charge expungedBusiness' Initial Response The signs at the machine direct all customers to display their ticket on their dash. It is not our practice to charge customers the citation fee if they did in fact pay the machine for parking, however, without the paid receipt on the dash we cannot verify that payment was made. We will gladly void the citation and waive the associated fees. We will reach out to the customer to get the information needed to void the citation.

Complaint8 to 10 cars were booted after paying for parking. Police arrived, told the man to remove the boots, the parking garage employee continued to scam.We arrived around 5:45pm on 1/9/2014 at the Central Parking Garage on Third & Monroe in downtown Memphis. The machine was not functioning, there were signs that said to either pay the machine or pay the uniformed employee, so we (and other people in the garage) paid the man.Hours later we arrived back to the garage, all of the visible cars were booted. We called the number on the sticker, they demanded ~125 dollars to remove the boot. Other people started arriving to their booted cars, at this point there were ~15 people standing in the garage, so we called the police.The garage employee arrived and still insisted on charging us at least $10. He was very rude and suspicious, and his vehicle was a autodealership vehicle (the police officers began questioning him about his illegal license plate after we were freed).The police officers were on our side but the employee continued to argue, even with the police, and got into a verbal confrontation with one of the officers. Eventually we paid an additional $10 just for the sake of not wasting our entire night (it was very cold).In the end, the employee was still demanding that two of the cars pay the full amount (125 or 150) to have the boots removed, against the police officer's suggestion.Desired Settlement$20Business Response This location does have signage stating that you must pay the machine in order to park. It was never reported ahead of time that there was an issue with the machine not working. I was notified after the cars were booted. Since there were several people that said the machine had malfunctioned, I instructed the employee of the Boot company to remove the boots in exchange for the $10 parking fee. The two boots that he did not remove were not part of this group and did enter the garage during a time that we verified the machine was operable. I do apologize if the employee was rude but he did resolve the issue as instructed. I do not see the need to refund the parking fees since the customer did park and did not pay the machine as the signs instructed. There was no report of the machine not working. Final Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)The signs said to pay the uniformed employee.

Stated I did not pay for parking. put a "boot" on car and charged me $125.00 to have it removed.On 8/23/2014 I parked in Central's lot. I paid an attendant $10.00 to park. I was directed to a space. I attended a [redacted]'s Game. Upon leaving the game, I found a locked "boot" on my [redacted] and a sticker on my window stating to call a number. I called the number. It took more than an hour for the guy to appear. He charged me $125.00 to remove the boot. He said there was a sign posted that said "do not pay any person to park." There was no sign. I had a parking pass. I have pictures. The parking guy had a picture on his phone of the man I paid. I think this is a racket. The police came and also said it was a racket.Desired SettlementI want my $125.00 back.

Central Parking is deceiving customers about the price of parking in their garage at the corner of Monroe & 3rd St. Saturday, Sept 9th at 10:45, we choose to park in the garage located at the corner of 3rd & Monroe based on the price posted on the sign at the garage's entrance: "Event Parking $10". Once inside the garage payment is made through a machine that gives two choices: $10 parking through midnight or $15 until 3 am. We chose the $10 parking option based on the sign at the entrance of the garage that insinuated that parking was a $10 flat fee. Upon returning to the car, there was a boot on my vehicle and sticker with the number to call. After calling the number, the person on the other sent his "agent" a person who called himself the "enforcer" who said that it was $125 to remove the boot and that he didn't work for the garage. After insisting that the sign was a misrepresentation of the actual price to park in the garage, neither the "enforcer" nor the person on the phone would listen forcing me to pay $125 to regain possession of the car. I wasn't the only one there were at least 5 other cars that also had boots on them.My issue with this situation is the sign that states one price and the information posted inside the garage that says something else. It's a "bait and switch" scheme: make the customer think they're paying one price for a service until they get ready to pay. The signage inside the garage is also convoluted and confusing. They are placed in locations where a person driving a car can't see them. All of this is done on purpose to confuse and mislead the customers parking in the garage and increase the number of immobilizing boots placed on vehicles, therefore increasing their revenue. Customers who park in the garage should only be liable for the price of parking as clearly posted at the garage's entrance: $10. Not $125 for being tricked.Desired Settlement1) A refund of the $125 paid to remove the boot. I paid the dollar amount posted at the entrance to park in the garage. 2)Removal of the sign with the specific price from the entrance of the garage. It should be replaced with either the maximum amount to park or no amount at all. Business Response Contact Name and Title:[redacted] -RMContact Phone: [redacted]Contact Email: [redacted]@spplus.comEvents at this location typically start at 7pm and end between 10pm-11pm. The event rate is normally $10, but there is an option to pay $15 if you are planning to stay after the event. The $10 rate clearly states that it expires at 12am and the $15 rate clearly states that it expires at 7am. There is also posted 24 hr customer crs if you have questions. The company that issues boots for non-payment or overtime will not remove the boot unless proof of payment is given. In this case, the customer's parking ticket expired at 12am. I will gladly issue a refund for the boot fee for the confusion. Our intention is not to penalize people who utilize the garage and equipment appropriately, however, I do wish a call would have been made in advance had there been a question or concern.

If their machines stop working, they put a boot on your car and charge you $125 to get it off. This company is swindling citizens out of their money.I parked and was in a hurry to get on an event bus. I didn't have time to move the car and the machine was not working on 12/29/14. I put a ticket from the day before on the dash hoping they would see I would pay the $10 for the spot if I could. Instead, I come back to find a boot on my car. The boot people tell me I have to pay them and call the parking people. So, I paid the boot guy and went back to my hotel. since I had enough power for my phone since I could plug my phone in, I called the parking people.The first time I called, there were 11 callers ahead of me. I waited about 10 minutes on the phone without any help. The second time I called, I waited for 20 minutes before talking to a person. The representative said I should have called the number on the machine and they would have advised me to park somewhere else. I explained that it was terrible to have to pay $125 when I would have paid it when I got back to my car. She said I was parked without paying so they have the right to boot the car. Then, I asked to speak with a manager. They put me on hold again. No manager was available and I had to "schedule" a time for the manager to call me the next day. This 2nd representative told me if I would have called them, I would not have so much trouble with the boot guy. I said it was sad that the company blames the boot guy and the boot guy blames the company, putting the customer in the middle. I also explained that if I would have called them, my cell phone would have been out of power. I think this whole parking business is a great racket to part honest people from their money. I am a paying customer and I cannot get a break from this company. I apologized to the representative that they had to work for such a dishonest and unethical company.Desired SettlementI would like to get $115 back since the machine wasn't working and it is so hard to get this company on the phone.I would also suggest they review their booting policy and get a better system to answer phone calls more efficiently.Business Response Contact Name and Title: [redacted]Contact Phone: [redacted]Contact Email:[redacted]@spplus.comWe thoroughly investigate all of the customer complaints that come through our customer contact center and resolve most of them, including issuing a refund of the boot fee when we are able to determine it was our fault. Occasionally, machines do malfunction. In the case here, I was never informed that this customer had filed a complaint. Nor do we have any record of any other customer unable to pay the machine due to it malfunction. I was unable to search the customer's name and find where an issue had been established in their name from our customer contact center. It seems the customer was able to pay the day before as she references in her complaint, without any problem. As she further states she was in a hurry and did not purchase a ticket. There are four machines in the garage that according to our records were all functioning correctly. The boot is valid based on the fact the customer did not pay the machine, did not have a receipt valid for the day she was booted. To present an expired ticket is never considered a "good intention". We see no reason to forgive the violation.Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)I called the company and explained everything in this complaint on 12/30/14. The customer service representetive admitted that the machine was not working in the morning. In the afternoon when I returned it was working, but I had to pay to remove the boot. The customer representative insisted I should have called the company before geting the boot removed, but as I explained, the telephone service for this company is so poor, I doubt I would have even been able to reach the company without my cell phone running out of power. So, I had no choice but to pay to get the boot taken off my car in order to get to a safe place. I was hundreds of miles away from home, and this company just seemed like it was determined to take money from tourists who don't know all the tricks and rules this parking company uses to take money from people. I was not satisfied with the answers of the customer representative and asked to speak to a manager. Of, course, there was no manager available at the time so the representative said the manager would call in the morning. The manager called me back at 7:30 on 12/31. He said he understood my frustration, but did not offer to help me in anyway. This is the only customer contact center that I know of and I told the manager I would be filing a complaint with the Revdex.com. When I called, they said the call would be recorded. There is no other way to contact this company. They are good at shielding themselves from their customers so they can just sit at a desk and collect money instead of serving its customers. I am appalled that a company can continue to accuse a customer of lying. I tried to purchase a ticket, their machine was not working. I paid to get the boot taken off my car, and contacted the parking company. They called me back the next day. If [redacted] was looking at their records, my complaint should be recorded by someone. Well, it is just another example of poor customer service on the part of this company. When you call this company, it tells customers the call will be recorded. It is easy for them to make these things up so they can continue poor customer service and charge their customers no matter what reasons they give or how they explain anything. However, on their end, they will continue to make customers wait 20 minutes before a person to answers the phone. I would call that poor customer service.

Extortion by issuing improper parking violation notice #XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXOn Tuesday, August 13, 2013 around 7:30pm. I arrived at the [redacted] located at [redacted] XXXXX to conduct business. I parked my vehicle in a parking space designated for the [redacted] use. This parking space do not belong to Central Parking System because it was clearly marked with signs indicating that it was only for the use of the [redacted] When I returned to my vehicle a short while later, I discovered a parking violation notice (#XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX) on my vehicle for "NO TICKET ON DASH" in the amount of $70.00.I believe Central Parking System is engaged in the illegal practice of extorting money from citizens of Memphis by issuing "NO TICKET ON DASH" parking violations for parking spaces that they do not have a legal claim to. Desired SettlementI want Central Parking System to reverse / cancel the parking violation notice (#[redacted]) issued to my vehicle immediately.

On 01/27/16 I parked in their [redacted] and the automatic payment machine was not working. My Tahoe was booted costing me $125.On 01/27/16 my handicapped wife and I parked in their [redacted] and the automatic payment machine was not working. This was later confirmed by the attendant who removed the boot that had been placed on my Tahoe. They charged $125 to remove it even though there was no way to pay in advance at the machine. Since the payment machine was not working the boot remover person should have only collected the $5.00 parking charge that I tried to pay in advance rather than booting my vehicle and charging $125.Desired SettlementI should be refunded the amount I was required to pay to have the boot removed from my vehicle ($125), less the $5.00 parking charge that we tried to pay in advance at the payment machine that was not working. Prior to removing the boot the attendant tested the payment machine and it would not accept the $5.00 that he tried to insert.Business Response Contact Name and Title: [redacted]Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXXContact Email: [redacted]@spplus.comOn the day of 01.27.2016-our records show a normal day of machine activity at the [redacted] location. We do not know exactly what time the customer was attempting to pay the machine. However we should note that if/when customer experienced machine problems he should have called our customer cr posted above the machine for assistance. Additionally please have the customer understand, the payment enforcement person who removed the boot is not our parking lot attendant. Upon entering the lot the signs clearly indicate no attendant is on duty and the machine should be paid before leaving your vehicle on the lot. The customer did not act responsibly and follow the instructions posted. There is no internal case number to indicate the customer would have spoken to our customer care. The payment enforcement person was only following the normal procedure for non payment of vehicles on the lot. If in the future the customer encounters an issue with the machine they should contact customer care and if not successful leave the lot and park elsewhere. It is never okay to park on a private property lot leave your vehicle without validating your parking.

I was charged $125 for a boot on my car because the machine of the parking lot was not working. On April 28th, 2016, I parked my 2015 Toyota Corolla on the [redacted] Lot of Central Parking near the [redacted] hotel. The machine of the lot was not responding to any buttons being pressed and therefore assumed the lot was free as many meters in that area shut down after 6PM. There was no information on what to do if the machine was not working. The person that answered the phone call (Around 9:27pm) said I should not have parked if the machine was not working. But there is no differentiation between the machine not working or if it shut down because of time like many of the surrounding meters in the area do. I had to pay $125 cash to get rid of the boot and the machine still wasn't working at the time of the boot being removed. [redacted] (the individual who removed my boot) showed me text messages between him and his boss about the machine not working. They should not be letting anyone park there if they intend to boot cars when the machine is not working.Desired SettlementI am seeking my $125 back from the company as the company failed to warn any customers what actions to take if the machine is not working which can be easily confused with the meters shutting down after a certain time. The company also failed to resolve the machine issue by the time the boot was being taken off. If the company demands no one park there because the machine is not working, the company should send an attendant to the lot warning customers not to park there. Business Response Contact Name and Title: [redacted] Senior ManContact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXXContact Email: [redacted]@spplus.comAs the customer has stated the machine was not functioning. The property where the machine is located is considered PRIVATE property, and it is obvious if parking there can not be validated one should not park there.The enforcement company informed us of the machine malfunction but we were not able to correct the problem immediately.We have partnered with the enforcement company to ensure the customer is refunded his $125.00 back as a one time customer courtesy.The common practice among most public parking is that one should avoid parking on a lot where his/her payment can not be validated.