I realize it's always an unpopular opinion to be pro-parking-enforcement, but to be honest, I'm always glad to see a car booted. Some people think they have a god-given right to leave their car wherever is convenient to them, it's nice to see at least some of them face consequences.
Don't get me wrong, I am totally in favor of parking enforcement, and wouldnt have even been that upset to take the hit and pay the fine. Instead, I had to both pay the fine and wait an hour in that parking lot until someone (working for the boot company) came to unlock the boot on my car (and i was lucky they weren't busy that night).
Note that it's private parking companies, not municipal agencies, doing the booting.
The city should have these folks on payroll instead of constantly contracting this stuff out.
Yes, even on private property because it’s adjudication between two private properties (the car and the parking lot)
If the profit motive could be aligned with actual progress, somehow objectively measurable then contracting might makes sense.
I think the appeal to privatization is sometimes corruption – when we lived in New Haven, at least two of the city’s tow contracts always went to cousins of council members – but mostly it’s the hope that magic pixie dust will avoid the need for competent oversight. As you noted that only works out when the incentives align, and I don’t see that here.
Pretty bad.
If they can double profits by being dirty and give 60% of their profits to the city, then everyone wins except the citizens.
One time in Berkeley I parked in a parking lot and walked across the street to pick up some food. I was gone 5 minutes and when I returned there was a boot on my car. There was an attendant in the parking lot who informed me it was private property and only for the businesses next to the parking lot. They wanted $150 to remove the boot. This wasn't city parking enforcement, it was a private party.
It's basically extortion. I get that they're trying to discourage non customers from using the lot, but it wasn't obvious it was restricted and clearly if they have someone in the lot full time, they could have warned me instead of immediately holding my car for ransom. Especially since I'm not from that area and I'm not familiar with local parking rules. It's purely an expensive trap.
I don't think this case should be legal.
Should it be legal for people to do the same in your kitchen?
There is nothing immoral about what these girls are doing, IMO. There are a LOT of boot lickers in this thread today.
The $50 covers the cost of travel, tools, advertising and personal risk.
If these girls had an app, they'd qualify for Y Combinator.
Immobilizing the car is a ludicrous solution. Someone left something on your property you want them to remove- and the solution is to prevent them from removing it?
Were there large signs, fences and gates to suggest it was private?
I used to live across the street from a park with public parking, and a business with a private lot. I saw people park in the private lot all of the time because there was no signage indicating it was private. It never became a problem for anyone, but the point is people make honest mistakes.