A Little Rant

[rzande1]

This is what happened to me yeasterday. It was a fun three hours. I parked in a spot downtown to see a friend. In the suburbs where I live you have to be 6 feet away from a fire hydrant so you dont get a ticket. I paid my parking till 4:30 pm. Well I did that as normal. Well so I go into starbucks and wait for my friend. I meet my friend and we go to my car at 3:30 but guess what it wasn't there. I am like omg wth. So I go to a city worker and she is like oh we probably towed it. So I am like what why? I was past the 6 feet thing. They said oh you need 15 in the city. Unfortunately they do not post there anywhere in the city at all which is nice (i call it mob politics). So i have to find the damn garage with my friend which turns out to be below a double decker street. Reminds me of down by the river jokes. So I go in and try and get my car. Turns out that oh since I am not the registered owner (my dad is) I can only pay cash. I am like oh jesus christ so i got to go to an atm and get 160 dollars for that. I get my car with their wax writing all over it. (i am a freak when it comes to a clean car so i was pissed off beyond anything) Then I notice that there is also a 100 dollar ticket on the windshield. So then I had to find my way out of the maze of lower lower level chicago.

That was my day thanks for listening to my rant.

[jseal]

rzande1,

Bummer! :( I hope that you successfully contest it!

[wyndhy]

sure seems crappy they'd have a spot that you pay to park in when it's illegal to park there.

[rzande1]

Yea I think it is just a way for them to make money on the suburbanites.

[sodaklostsoul]

Dude, that's BS!!!! I hope you contest it. It's not right that you had to pay to have your car towed.

[rzande1]

Well they run a huge racket on it. I know my dad was talking me about it last night. The judges automatically deny and then charge you for court costs. Oh the parking person at the impound was funny. He was telling me that if the chicago fire fighters come by they automatically just break all the windows in your car saying oh if there is a fire they would have to run hoses through your car. Turns out they frequently break windows of cars saying that and there never is a fire. Great eh? This is why I hate the city. The suburbs are way better. Cleaner and more justice.

[rzande1]

Oh yes the irony of this. My car was right by the actual automatic parking thing where you pay for the time you want. LMAO the racket they run is great.

[gekkogecko]

A least they didn't have the paperwork in an unmarked file drawer in a dark basement, with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Tiger".

[rockintime]

Looks like you're doing your part to keep them from raising city taxes even further. :spin:

[IowaMan]

Had a smiliar thing happen to a friend of mine a few years back. I always try to park in the burbs and take the train into town if it's possible when I'm going to Chicago.

[PantyFanatic]

Amateurs! :roflmao:

All the major cities have found parking to be another cash cow and the days of the $10 parking ticket are long gone. As the middle class revenue base shrinks and the infrastructures decay, every cactus is being squeezed for the last drop of moisture.

Cleveland found that wellspring a long time ago. They require the car title to be presented [along with receipts showing all fines (plus towing charge, plus 'storage fees' ($25/day)], have been paid AT HEADQUARTERS DOWNTOWN, to claim your car and have a number of impound lots located in obscure parts of the city which is your responsibility to find which one has your car. Most people have to find a way and get home to retrieve the title which normally makes it too late to get back and get to the lot during business hours that day. This means at least a full day off work (unless you supply a power of attorney document for any person who's name is not on the title ;) ).

Now keep in mind that any car that was in a 'tow-away zone' during rush hour has an extra $50 added to the parking ticket. Pray that it wasn't on a 'snow street' that voids all parking zones when there is 2"+ of snow on the ground. (that's an extra $50 too :D )

Yep. The $25 parking ticket can turn into a $250 - $300 ransom very quickly. ........... (and I'm not going to get into the days that the impounded cars were being stripped in the lots (which the city was NOT responsible for) and found it was being done by a group of cops :rofl: )


Amateurs!