‘I called their bluff’: Frugal driver saves $80 on a parking ticket by pushing back on the fine print and threatening legal action

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Oct 28, 2023 3:00 PM EDT

Parking tickets are objectively the worst. As drivers, all we ever really want is to pull up with ease, park right away, and move on with our lives, but if you live in a city, your odds of finding a parking spot immediately are slim. Sharks lurk in their tiny parking police golf carts, waiting for impatient drivers to slip up, so they can slap an irksome fee on your windshield. Heed my words, never mess with the parking police– unless they mess with you first!

However, when a driver is unjustly fined, they're entitled to some sort of explanation. But hiding behind 1,000 layers of bureaucratic tape, it's not easy to just reach out to your local parking enforcement and file an appeal on your ticket. In fact, it's design to be so tedious and such a complete waste of time, that most people just sign, sign the dang ticket, and send it back with a check just to avoid the hassle. But not u/ItsPronouncedTribe. The OP in this story was not going to let a technicality hurt his wallet in any way, so he decided to give the ticket pushers a little push back in response to an unjust parking ticket. 

Scroll for the full story of malicious compliance, poker faces, and triumph over a shady system. For more relatable tales of taking a win in the real world, check out this story of a down-to-Earth manager who saves a young employee from his mother's disappointment.

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  • 01
    Font - r/r/MaliciousCompliance. Posted by u/ItsPronounced Tribe 12 hours ago How I complied my way out of a parking ticket M OC A few years ago, I parked in a paid parking lot, but forgot to buy a parking ticket. When I came back a few minutes later, I discovered an $80 ticket on my
    via u/ItsPronouncedTribe
  • 02
    Product - dash. While I was frustrated about my own forgetfulness, the ticket itself was fair. However, I came to discover that the amount they had charged me was not. Before leaving the lot, I noticed a small detail on the terms and conditions sign
    via u/ItsPronouncedTribe
  • 03
    Font - at the entrance of the lot. It said that a failure to pay for a parking ticket would result in a $70 ticket, not the $80 that I was charged. While I'm no lawyer, I do know that those signs essentially create an implicit contract upon entering the lot, therefore the company was technically violating their own contract by charging me extra.
    via u/ItsPronouncedTribe
  • 04
    Font - I appealed the ticket, stating that I would be happy to pay the agreed-upon $70, but it was rejected. I then reached out directly to customer service, explaining the same situation. They rejected my request to pay the valid $70, because their "ticket amounts are non- negotiable". Cue the malicious compliance.
    via u/ItsPronouncedTribe
  • 05
    Font - I realized that by their own words, they are the ones attempting to negotiate the price by charging me an extra $10, so I called up the supervisor of their claims department. She was already aware of this dispute, and immediately attempted to shut me down, saying "the signage is not up for discussion". I reminded her
    via u/ItsPronouncedTribe
  • 06
    Font - that their company's policy states that "ticket amounts are non-negotiable", and that given what the terms on the sign stated, they were trying to negotiate a higher price. Once again, she shut me down stating the signage is not up to discussion. The rest of the conversation went something like this:
    via u/ItsPronouncedTribe
  • 07
    Font - Me: "So where can I escalate this from here?" Her: "There is no more escalation, next stage is court." ====Cue more malicious compliance====
    via u/ItsPronouncedTribe
  • 08
    Font - Me: "Seems silly to go to court over $10, don't you think?" Her: "Yeah, it does." Me: "Ok, well I'll begin the small claims court process over the non- negotiable price issue then." Her: "Ok."
    via u/ItsPronouncedTribe
  • 09
    Font - I was having fun at this point, and was fully ready to start taking legal steps over this $10 on a matter of principle (and knowing that if I did the company would immediately cave). Before doing that however, I sent one final email to the Vice President of the company. I
    via u/ItsPronouncedTribe
  • 10
    Font - explained the whole dispute, explaining the signage, their "non-negotiable" policy, and how the appeals supervisor told me my next step was to take it to court. I offered them the opportunity to resolve this civilly before going onto that stage.
    via u/ItsPronouncedTribe
  • 11
    Font - Not even 3 hours later, I got an email back, stating that my ticket had been fully cleared as a courtesy. I called their bluff, maliciously complying to the contract and the "take it to court" attitude, and it worked! As an added bit
    via u/ItsPronouncedTribe
  • 12
    Font - of pettiness, I replied thanking them, and CC'ed the appeals supervisor. I then directly addressed her, telling her that this is how easy it could have been resolved if she would have actually addressed the signage issue.
    via u/ItsPronouncedTribe
  • 13
    Smile - The moral of this story: Push back against parking lot companies. They use shady practices, and try to scare people into paying unjustly. Often a simple, but credible legal threat will make any issue disappear :)
    via u/ItsPronouncedTribe
  • 14
    Rectangle - IsThat Dave ByChance 12 hr. ago Gotta love it when the VP is involved as they knew the amount they would lose just to CALL their lawyer is more than the fine. Smart business decision for all.
    via u/IsThatDaveByChance
  • 15
    Font - Fruguy01 12 hr. ago You handled the situation in the finest manner available. Vote Reply Share I-love-flamingos 11 hr. ago I see what you did there. Vote Reply Share speculatrix 7 hr. ago Must have ticketed the vp off!
    via u/Fruguy01
  • 16
    Font - CoderJoe1 11 hr. ago Terms and conditions may apply, or they may not. Vote Reply Share cnoiogthesecond 11 hr. ago I'm waiting for the day someone publishes a phone call recording in a two-party consent state, but the call has that "This call may be recorded for quality assurance" and the person says "That gave me consent to record the call!"
    via u/CoderJoe1
  • 17
    Smile - H20_life 11 hr. ago Well done! It's the principle of the matter. Did you notice if they changed the sign to $80?
    via u/H2O_life
  • 18
    Font - Some-Region-5668 7 hr. ago My guess is that they changed nothing since they didn't actually go to court or get fined... I bet it's cheaper for that parking company to waive the occasional ticket than it is to make their tickets cost $10 less. (At least until they get fined)
    via u/Some-Region-5668
  • 19
    Rectangle - Creepy-Relation-2608 11 hr. ago I love seeing pettiness, man. Just amazing to read MC, especially when it's basically pushing back against other businesses or the government itself.
    via u/Creepy-Relation-2608
  • 20
    Font - thecuriousiguana 5 hr. ago There is one massive reason they canceled your ticket rather than letting you pay $70 or test it in court... If they had done either of those things, every $80 they had ever issued would be void.
    via u/thecuriousiguana
  • 21
    Font - Dienowwww. 8 hr. ago I don't think a parking company has a right to give you a ticket like that AND force you to pay. If you want to come back, they can kick you out for not paying, but otherwise, they can't force you to pay
    via u/Dienowwww

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customer service bureaocracy epic calling someones bluff wins officer fine print parking ticket law enforcement driving driver bluff ticket parking police money win parking police
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