BALTIMORE drivers are getting parking tickets that look almost identical to parking tickets from the city - but they're not.
Christina Majernik was issued a ticket while parking in a private parking garage for $85.
Christina Majernik was given an $85 ticket from a private parking company, but it was sent to her home address
After a deeper dive, it turns out that the private company has no government force behind it
It was sent to her home address, and had a very convincing seal of the City of Baltimore on the citation, leading her to believe that she was issued a ticket by the city.
Rather, it was from a private company, sneakily called "Municipal Parking Services."
It stated on the notice that if she didn't pay the full amount in two weeks, that original fine would jump to $125.
After 60 says, she would then be subject to being towed or booted.
Majernik noticed that the return address on her ticket was in New Orleans and not in Baltimore - and that's when she contacted I-Team to dig deeper.
I-Team, a division of the city's local new station WBALTV, was clever enough to call the Baltimore Parking Authority - only to find out that the garage she got the ticket from isn't on the list of 14 garages the city owns.
I-Team found a plethora of signs in the parking garage urging motorists to use the "Premium Parking" app to pay for their space, and when Premium Parking was asked about how they were sending tickets to peoples homes, it was revealed that they partner with Municipal Parking Services to find the addresses.
When Majernik's concern for being booted or towed away from her home, A Municipal Parking Service representative stated that boots or a tow-away are only issued to repeat offenders, and only if they park in one of the company's other parking garages.
Though, the way the private company was able to access Majernik's home address is where it gets spooky.
A company spokesperson from Municipal Parking Services said that they simply use public records to find home addresses.
And while it's not illegal to do so, it's a tactic that is used to prey on the fear of people.
Randolph Rice, an attorney who spoke with I-Team, assured them that because there is no government force behind the private company, there is nothing that could be done to Majernik if she simply avoided parking in one of their garages.
Majernik is actively fighting the ticket, and thinks that all cities should make it abundantly clear as to whether or not the ticket is from the city or a private company.
"I think that there should be some mandate that it should be clearly labeled who this ticket is coming from. Don't have a fake municipal logo in the top right-hand corner," she said.
No comments:
Post a Comment