JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Parking in downtown Jacksonville isn’t cheap, especially if you have to go to a private lot.
One driver is now questioning why they are now having to pay over $100 for parking for over an hour.
A private parking lot on Forsyth Street was busy on Monday as people tried to find parking downtown. It’s the kind of lot without an attendant and it’s one where they want you to text your information and credit card number just after you park and decide how long you are going to be there.
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Kia Broderson did just that but ended up paying much more than she anticipated.
“I just went to park after work to get some drinks and I paid on the app, like it said I was supposed to. Paid for about an hour, I wasn’t sure how long we were gonna be there. I was there for an hour and 29 minutes and they charged me $109 for 29 extra minutes, and it was also 15 bucks an hour to park. So it was a little bit excessive,” Broderson said.
Broderson said she got a notice in the mail telling her she exceeded her hour limit and now owes the money. It said she could have her car booted or towed if she didn’t pay. Kia didn’t want to fight it so she paid it, but just wanted to warn others to watch out.
The parking lot is run by Elite Parking. There are signs all over saying you must follow the rules and there is no free parking.
News4JAX has heard similar complaints from others who have parked in a private garage downtown where they had to text the information. They ended up having to pay $80 to park for an hour where they thought it would only be $16.
News4JAX asked people downtown what they think of the idea of texting to pay and not paying in person.
“I don’t think it’s fair. I think they should at least charge maybe a little bit more than the going rate. But they shouldn’t charge an exorbitant amount. They said there was really no recourse,” said Tom Smith.
News4JAX called Elite Parking Services but it did not immediately respond. News4JAX also checked with the city’s public parking division to see if they had received any complaints and was told they did not, and it’s a case of buyer beware, even if it’s just a parking space.