Parking attendant posers cost downtown drivers

Houstonist is a big fan of parking for free, no matter what. Even if that means we have to walk three blocks or save our downtown business for after 6 or on the weekends. Apparently, that decision is saving us more than we thought. Fake parking attendants, according to a KHOU report, have been costing drivers downtown lots of time and money.

The fake parking lot attendants con drivers into giving them their cash for parking, instead of putting it in the box like they're usually supposed to. Unfortunately for these naive drivers, then, the real parking lot managers think that these cars are illegally parked in their lots, and many times have boots put on the cars. One man who talked to KHOU said that he paid someone who he thought was an attendant for Central Parking System, but when he came back to his car, it had been booted. He had to pay $100 to have the boots removed, which he called "ridiculous for a $3 parking spot." We have to agree.

The boots had been placed on his car by Premier Parking Enforcement, which has been enforcing parking for Central since the beginning of this month. Previously, only the cars of repeat offenders were booted, but now they are also targeting first-time parking violators as well. KHOU had difficulty reaching anyone at Premier Parking. Their address is a storage facility in downtown Houston and their phone number connected to a dispatcher in South Carolina who knew little about the company.

The lesson here? Park on the street or be smart about paid parking lots.