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They seem to be doing it for a fee, which is just stupid. When cars are 'booted' in US, is there no ticket to go along with it to bring further repercussions i
by neoromantique 3y ago
They seem to be doing it for a fee, which is just stupid.
When cars are 'booted' in US, is there no ticket to go along with it to bring further repercussions if it is illegally removed?
- prepend 3y agoAtlanta is one of the few places in America that allow booting. It’s done by private orgs, not the city. There is no ticket. Just a boot and a fine to pay to remove the boot. These boot girls are charging $50 or something. The fee to remove the boot is usually 85-200+. Personally, I’m happy to pay these people any amount over paying the super jerk boot people. I had a guy put a boot on my car while I was walking over to pay the parking box. He wouldn’t remove it until I paid $85. I had another boot put on my car from a bank’s parking lot. The bank was closed, the lot was open, there were no signs or attendants. Just an open lot. The boot operator claimed he had the right to boot but would not produce any documents. I paid $160 to remove my boot. I contacted the bank the next day and they said they don’t contract with anyone for parking enforcement when they are closed. Atlanta booters can all go bankrupt for what I care. These ladies are heroes.
- artursapek 3y agothe lockpicking lawyer on youtube has a video showing how to pick a boot
- jagtstronaut 3y agoThis happened to a friend in Houston Tried to pay for parking and it didn’t work and when we got back it was booted An hour of illegal parking should never warrant a 160 dollar fine to remove a boot.
- sacnoradhq 3y agoNothing canned air and a mini sledge can't fix.
- acdha 3y agoIf you arrived at a store and the self-checkout was broken, would you just walk out without paying for your items? Since parking is their business I would never do something which look like stealing without some kind of protection like a recording from someone at the parking when I called. It’s just not worth the risk, otherwise, and you can always park somewhere else where you don’t have to worry.
- jagtstronaut 3y agoNo one is arguing that they don’t have some right to recourse. Just that booting and charging a ton of money to remove is excessive and an invasion of that person property.
- acdha 3y agoIf it was the city, sure, but it’s private property so this feels like complaining that a hotel charges a hefty cancellation fee for no-shows. Yes, it’s eye-watering but short of passing a law capping this I don’t think there are options other than not accepting the terms for use of someone’s private property.
- Dylan16807 3y agoBut there are no items here. The payment is just for time, and if payment isn't working then parking there doesn't cost them anything or cause them any inconvenience.
- neoromantique 3y agoWicked, if anyone put a boot on my car and he was not employed by the city, I'd call the police to take care of it.
- TaylorAlexander 3y agoThe police would not help, these corporations, however scummy, are seemingly authorized to do this. The police would just tell you to pay the fine.
- ethbr1 3y agoYes and no. I had a cop help me try to cut an unlabeled bike lock off my bike. The business had double-locked it to a rail I'd locked it to, because apparently that was forbidden. Unfortunately, there was no sign, so I had no idea. Cop and I worked on it for awhile, then he gave the security guard an earful for not leaving a message. Side note: of all the bike locks, braided are by far the most annoying to cut, because they're impervious to bolt cutters.
- TaylorAlexander 3y agoI am specifically assuming that the corporations in Atlanta that put boots on cars are permitted to do so via a public private partnership, and the officer would tell you to contact the corporation to deal with it. I doubt any similar situation exists with bike locks, so I don’t see that as comparable.
- 15155 3y agoI'd take an Uber to Home Depot, pick up a 3" grinder and cutoff wheel and be on my merry way.
- turquoisevar 3y agoIt’ll be faster to pull up a video of the Lockpicking Lawyer and grab a paper clip. The locks on these things (and other things) are 99% of the time abysmal.
- mk89 3y ago> It’s done by private orgs, not the city. There is no ticket. Just a boot and a fine to pay to remove the boot. So you can expect that "thanks" to these girls, the city will give authority to these third party companies to put a boot on the car and make it illegal to remove it? I don't foresee any other pro-people action: the easiest is to make it illegal to remove a boot.
- pavel_lishin 3y agoFrom the article, it sounds like it already is: > “While owning a boot key is not illegal, here is what the public needs to know,” reads the department’s Facebook page. “If you use a Boot Key to modify, tamper, or disengage a booting device from a vehicle, you can be charged with: Criminal Trespass, and/or Theft of Services, and/orTheft by Taking, and/or Damage to Property 2nd Degree.”
- mk89 3y agoEven if these are from third parties and not the city itself? I read comments here of people who got their car "booted" (not sure what verb to use:) ) by not authorized companies. How do you even know what is authorized and what is scam? What a nasty issue, to be honest.
- prepend 3y agoThat was my biggest complaint. There’s a lot of rules around towing, but booting is all over the place and not really regulated.
- prepend 3y agoThere’s a bill in the state assembly to make booting illegal. It didn’t pass this year, but the representative claims they will reintroduce it again. It’s already only legal in a few small areas. It’s more likely that booting will stop altogether than new, pro-boot legislation will pass.
- mk89 3y ago
- mk89 3y ago> I contacted the bank the next day and they said they don’t contract with anyone for parking enforcement when they are closed. So this means that you can start a business and simply put a boot on any car almost everywhere ...and people just have to pay???
- prepend 3y agoThese aren’t big corporations. This was literally just a guy in a pickup truck and a few boots. I paid because I wanted to get the boot off my car. I also then warned someone else away before they got a boot and the boot operator started screaming at me. All pretty shady.
- the_third_wave 3y agoIf things work this way the solution seems to be relatively simple in that you put a boot on the booter's car and demand at least as much to take it off as the booter demands from you. When the booter approaches you to get his pound of flesh you take your pound of steel out of the boot (pun intended) and lock it to his truck. If he starts getting physical you call the cops and/or defend yourself. Given that this seems to be a form of legalised extortion it should be fought, not rewarded. Also, next time there is something to vote for vote for the politico who promises to do away with these practices.
- bb88 3y agoYou clearly interfered with the operator's method of income -- which is booting cars and then holding them for ransom.
- lowbloodsugar 3y agoCan you cite a law that says it is “illegal” to remove a boot? You need a law before something is illegal.