[bamboo]

I got a parking ticket in Richmond, Diamond parking.
I neglected it and now they sent me a final collection letter saying if this is still not paid, tehy will take me to small claims court and have my vehicle towed if i park at their lot again.
What should i do?
Does anyone have this experience?
Thank you!

 

[target]

My guess would be pay the ticket. Just call them and find out how to pay it

 

[simont]

i had that too.. they said i parked somewhere but then i was at work.. and they kept calling and sending me threatening letters and yeah.. they stopped evenutally

 

[Adz1]

pay it or don't park on there lot.

 

[onefishtwofish]

yes..pay it. if the take it to small claims you will have to pay those filing fees as well.

 

[rescuepenguin]

I'm with the pay it or don't park there crowd.
I have heard horror stories of Diamond writing tickets that are not deserved (the next question is , how many of these stories are true?). Once it goes to collections, it will eventually end up on your credit bureau file as an unpaid debt. If they sue you, it will appear as exactly that. Future creditors will see on your file that that had to sue to get their money.

This time pay it. Next time if you didn't deserve it, write a letter to the parking company and cc a copy to the business owner or manager. By yourself you don't have much pull with the parking companies. However their customers (the owner/manager of the business that you visited ) will have a greater influence. I have learned a lot in my experience with them, I have no problem letting a business know that I don't visit them as much if their lot is patrolled by impark (a story of bad customer service, and a parking ticket wasn't involved)

Steve

 

[jkcichlid]

Parked in a Diamond lot, got 1 hr of parking time 12:03 to 1:03, got back to my van at 12:55 and already had a ticket on my windshield. Cellphone was dead so couldn't take a picture of the meter showing 12:55.

Talked to someone there and told them the story, only had to pay half the amount of the original, no interest.

 

[bamboo]

Thanks for all the input guys! I went to a restaurant for dinner that night. Had no clue that was a pay parking. I guess there were 2 parking lots side by side. One was for customers and the other one was a pay parking. I was going to call them, but neglected it and forgotten. I guess i'm screwed now and have to pay the full amount? $105 and change.

 

[kelly528]

Yeeouch... yup I guess so

 

[rescuepenguin]

Ouch...that will cut into your fish budget, maybe get into the habit of asking resturant staff if it is ok to park where you did. If i'm not sure, I always ask. This goes for any business.

Steve

 

[NewGuy]

Its doubtful they will actually take you to court. Its not worth the time and money for them to hire someone to get back $105. Worst case scenario is that they will forward the bill to a collection agency and they will hound you for awhile. I know someone that works for Diamond Parking and he said not to bother if you can withstand the collection calls and the scary threats because that is all they really are. The only parking tickets you MUST pay are city ones since those have the force of by-laws behind them. Private parking companies just use scare tactics to scare people into paying. They won't even tow you unless you don't get pay again since otherwise they have no reason to check your plates.

 

[plantedinvertz]

Just pay it....not worth all the other trouble...

 

[eternity302]

Haven't paid mine on my third year now! I still park on their lot! YES! IF THEY'RE TRACKING THIS, READ IT!!!
I parked at one of their Richmond lots, waiting for my family, they didn't know where exactly, cuz if you know Alexandra street in Richmond, u know it's a mess! I walked out waiting on the street, waved to my family where to park, went into the small diner to eat, and came back out with a ticket saying i left lot! SO I called the next day.. talked to a gurl, almost made her cry, she passed me along to the manager, he wanted me to show a receipt, I ASKED HIM "WHERE ON ALEXANDRA RD DO SMALL DINER NOT TAKE CASH ONLY?"!! Seriously, what a joke, I even told them straight up I ain't paying cuz ur stupid guy on the lot cant do his job right!

 

[Baos]

better to pay than to have it haunt you for 7 years. If you give them a sob story they will usually reduce it. I got a fine for having the ticket upside down on my dash. My guess was that the wind blew through my vents and flipped it. Older car and whatnot.

 

[slee]

All you have to pay is $18 to change your plate... works for me, did it 3 times and still park in the lot.

 

[bamboo]

Thanks again for all the inputs! It definately helps alot. Thanks for all your time!

 

[Longimanus]

You can phone and tell them that you never had a ticket on your dash, so you didn't know you had to pay. Worked for me, they cut my price in half.

 

[Tony]

Just pay but call them and talk to someone there, they will give you discount.