Company's Fake Parking Tickets Draw Fine From The State

Attorney General Spitzer today resolved an investigation into a Buffalo parking lot owner and operator that deceived consumers into paying $13,500 in fees using windshield notices that resembled municipal parking citations.

Central Parking System of New York, Inc., which operates under the name Allright Parking, agreed to pay full restitution to thousands of individuals who paid the fake parking tickets and $7,500 in civil penalties.

Since at least March 2000, Allright Parking has been placing windshield notices on cars parked in its lots after hours. According to Spitzer's office, the notices strongly resembled municipal parking tickets. In fact, the "Violation Notice"affixed to vehicles included an envelope labeled "Parking Ticket" in large, bold print, along with directions for the consumer to print the "citation number" on the payment check.

The "Penalty Payment Schedule" of the "Violation Notice" directed consumers to pay five dollars within seven days or fifteen dollars after seven days. This is similar to the payment process used by the City of Buffalo for the resolution of municipal parking tickets. Thereafter, Allright Parking would send unpaid "tickets" to a collection agency.

Since Allright Parking began this practice, the Board of Parking for the City of Buffalo has issued two "cease and desist" orders to Allright Parking indicating that city code requires a parking lot have an attendant on duty to safeguard cars if it expects the public to pay a fee for parking.

Even after receiving these orders, Allright Parking and its debt collection agency, Ticket Track, continued to issue "tickets" and collect parking fees. From March 2000 to February 2002, Allright Parking issued over 2,700 tickets and collected approximately $13,500.

In settling the case, the Nashville-based company will no longer attempt to collect parking fees from consumers parked in unattended lots. In addition, Allright Parking will no longer issue notices with envelopes that could lead consumers to believe it was issued by the City of Buffalo or use words such as "violation notice" or "parking ticket."

In order to be eligible for refunds in this case, individuals must file a completed complaint form with the Attorney General's Office by March 10, 2003. To do so, consumers should call the Attorney General's consumer help line at (800) 771-7755 or go to the office's web site at www.oag.state.ny.

This case was handled by Assistant Attorney General James Morrissey of the Buffalo Regional Office.

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