Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happens if you don’t pay it?

Collections and ruined credit. Enjoy that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Silly question, how do these companies get access to license plates databases with citizens addresses? I thought that was police business.

It’s police and certain entities. My guess would be that there’s a provision for parking enforcement companies, and this is legit enough to pass that test (since it’s authorized by the (distressed and/or malicious) property owner). They’re kind of threading the needle here and presumably they’re just sucking up as much cash as they can before local government catches up to them with better rules against this stuff. Or enforces the laws they already have.

At first glance it doesn’t make sense that a Trader Joe’s would want to bring this negativity/scam to its parking lot but I suspect this one is a zombie in some way anyway. It must be doomed and so the manager or operator or whoever just doesn’t care. That shopping center has always been cursed honestly.

Anonymous wrote:What happens if you don’t pay it?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That location is just so annoying anyway! The parking lot is cramped with tight turns, the building is dingy and has a weird, unpleasant, layout. The elevators take forever and the stairs are outside. The aisles of the TJ's are super narrow. The Target had sewer smells the last time I went, and always looks like a dump.

I bet this extra issue brings a lot more business to the new Trader Joe's, also in downtown Bethesda. Parking is great there.

Have they resolved the walk-off parking issue at the new TJ's in Bethesda? I stopped going there because the garage was full of cars but clearly not all of those people were in the store. The last time I was there, I had to wait for a spot, and there were maybe 3 other people shopping in the store. Even factoring in employees, that's a lot of other cars.

The parking situation at the new TJs in Bethesda is really bad. Every once in a while now, they have an employee checking car plates. So that’s some progress. But it seems that many many people from the apartment building over TJ and also just folks going to other stores are parking there, especially when the lot is full but then the store itself is not busy at all. I have literally driven out several times after unsuccessfully finding parking even at odd hours. It’s super annoying for those of us who want to do our shopping at TJs.

Come on out to Rockville. We have two TJs with nice free surface lots.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That location is just so annoying anyway! The parking lot is cramped with tight turns, the building is dingy and has a weird, unpleasant, layout. The elevators take forever and the stairs are outside. The aisles of the TJ's are super narrow. The Target had sewer smells the last time I went, and always looks like a dump.

I bet this extra issue brings a lot more business to the new Trader Joe's, also in downtown Bethesda. Parking is great there.

Have they resolved the walk-off parking issue at the new TJ's in Bethesda? I stopped going there because the garage was full of cars but clearly not all of those people were in the store. The last time I was there, I had to wait for a spot, and there were maybe 3 other people shopping in the store. Even factoring in employees, that's a lot of other cars.

The parking situation at the new TJs in Bethesda is really bad. Every once in a while now, they have an employee checking car plates. So that’s some progress. But it seems that many many people from the apartment building over TJ and also just folks going to other stores are parking there, especially when the lot is full but then the store itself is not busy at all. I have literally driven out several times after unsuccessfully finding parking even at odd hours. It’s super annoying for those of us who want to do our shopping at TJs.

Anonymous wrote:I think this is the most relevant forum for this but pls correct if wrong. Hope to make people aware of this to prevent harm.

I got a surprise bill in the mail from Vanguard Parking Solutions in Hollywood Florida, with photos of my license plate, for $58+ (more if not paid now, with threat of collections) for parking there for 2 hours on the day of a tornado and failing to see a barcode to scan. This is new there. Warning ppl--I'm not sure how folks will deal with this who are don't see the sign, don't scan barcodes (I asked around and many ppl I know esp elderly ones who shop there don't even do this) etc.

fwiw I called them and left a message explaining, with my phone # listed 3 times, no response and today got another bill for $90 with same threat.

It's a thread on reddit, mostly in Florida but new to Bethesda.

Any insights--should I just pay this, do my civic duty with MD Atty General's office, and never park there again?

Anonymous wrote:Silly question, how do these companies get access to license plates databases with citizens addresses? I thought that was police business.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If helpful to know, this is apparently a new business model with some parking lots, but this particular one has a complaint here:

https://www.bbb.org/us/fl/hollywood/profile/parking-facilities/vanguard-parking-solutions-inc-0633-92026845/complaints?page=1

and here, for example: https://www.reddit.com/r/florida/comments/1e1j4ct/i_received_a_parking_ticket_in_st_pete_for/

Be aware!!!

In the Reddit example, I would argue the person’s activity did not meet the definition of “park.” And I’d challenge that charge.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Silly question, how do these companies get access to license plates databases with citizens addresses? I thought that was police business.

It’s police and certain entities. My guess would be that there’s a provision for parking enforcement companies, and this is legit enough to pass that test (since it’s authorized by the (distressed and/or malicious) property owner). They’re kind of threading the needle here and presumably they’re just sucking up as much cash as they can before local government catches up to them with better rules against this stuff. Or enforces the laws they already have.

At first glance it doesn’t make sense that a Trader Joe’s would want to bring this negativity/scam to its parking lot but I suspect this one is a zombie in some way anyway. It must be doomed and so the manager or operator or whoever just doesn’t care. That shopping center has always been cursed honestly.

Anonymous wrote:Silly question, how do these companies get access to license plates databases with citizens addresses? I thought that was police business.