I was out on a date on a Saturday night and parked my car in a shopping mall parking lot in which 80% of the businesses were closed since it was a weekend. We ran into have a quick drink at Tinn Lizzy's off of Roswell and Piedmont Rd. We were in there 30 minutes and came back to a boot on my car. He said that we could not park there unless we were going to one of the places at Tuxedo Mall.

I said that we going to have a drink/dinner at Marcello's in that shopping strip. He said that we were not allowed to walk across the street. I said that it was a weekend and there was not ample signage explaining this. He said that there was a small sign on Piedmont saying that. I said that I had been there several times and never had this problem. Meanwhile there are other people parking there and walking across the street.

Unbelievable!! A passerby said that they got booted 2 weeks ago and that the parking guy stands on the roof to watch people. Scary! It is not clearly marked and would have gladly paid $5-10 to park. Well, we argued with him and his supervisor for an hour. Paid $75 to finally have him take the boot off my car. What a scam! To boot, I had a major argument with my date due to this. Beware of EPS Parking!

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5 Updates & Rebuttals

John

Memphis,
Tennessee,
U.S.A.

These Guys ARE NOT Law Enforcement

#2Consumer Suggestion

Sun, October 21, 2012

They are not the police, sheriff, state police or GBI. You are free to try and remove the boot placed on your car. You can call AAA if you have a membership and have the car flatbed towed wherever you choose to work on removing the boot privately. Once the boot is placed on you car you own it. The same as if someone places a flyer under your wiper. The police will not get involved as it is a civil matter. Have at it.

Shawn C.

United States of America

Flynrider, EPS will boot you even if you are a customer

#3Consumer Comment

Wed, April 25, 2012

I have been booted by this company, even though I had business at the location. I had no idea that also visiting a business next door for a few minutes would cost me an extra $50. I no longer do business at the location, so it ultimately will cost those businesses more than the $50 it cost me to visit there.

As far as "do unto others" is concerned, businesses who create a hostile environment by hiring these sleazebags deserve no business. And yes, proper signage would be helpful. When you have a business with an open parking lot, people will assume that it's okay to park there, and it carries some responsibility to signal your intentions to your customers. This is especially true in strip centers where you share parking with neighboring businesses.

Businesses are free to do what they want within the law to enforce parking, but I don't agree with this method at all. Until the City of Atlanta does something about EPS, the best thing to do is stop patronizing businesses that hire them. And tell the business why. That's what I did.

Flynrider

Phoenix,
Arizona,
USA

Do you need a sign?

#4Consumer Comment

Tue, April 24, 2012

"     In most cases, if the parking was clearly signed as off limits, patrons only, limited time, etc, there would be no problem, but then EPS would not be able to extort any money, would they? "

  I do not park on private property unless I have business there.  I also do not expect others to park on my property as though it were public property.   It's a simple "do unto others" golden rule strategy that will go a long way towards putting these types of tow operators out of business.   After all, if people did not treat private property as if it were their own, there would be no reason for these "booters".

As you can see by the OP's opening line, there is an attitude that he should be entitled to park on private property "in which 80% of the businesses were closed since it was a weekend. ".   Obviously, the property owners disagree with this attitude.

Shawn C.

United States of America

Robert, it's a scam.

#5Consumer Comment

Mon, April 23, 2012

Just because something is legal doesn't make it not a scam.

EPS is a sleazy company which intentionally places signage in non-obvious locations with the full expectation that some folks are going to park and walk around a bit. They sit and watch for you to walk away and then they boot you when you're not looking.

Property owners have a right to manage parking on their property, but doing it this way is intentionally deceptive and should be illegal. EPS has figured out that Atlanta is pretty lax about signage requirements, and they take advantage of that as a way to maximize revenue. They offer their "services" for free to property owners to control parking by ripping off unwitting customers. In most cases, if the parking was clearly signed as off limits, patrons only, limited time, etc, there would be no problem, but then EPS would not be able to extort any money, would they?

The citizens of Atlanta need to get together and get some more stringent laws passed regarding parking signage requirements and shut sleazy companies like EPS down.

Robert

Irvine,
California,
U.S.A.

Really?

#6Consumer Comment

Mon, April 16, 2012

I said that it was a weekend and there was not ample signage explaining this.
- "ample" is an interesting choice of words. So are you saying that there was a sign that you saw but since there wasn't one every 2 feet you figured it didn't apply to you? Well the best you can do is check your local laws in signage and if it meets the criteria you are basically out of luck. If it doesn't meet the requirements you can probably fight it to get your money back.

Scary! It is not clearly marked and would have gladly paid $5-10 to park
- Really? Well let me take a wild guess here. The only legitimate parking in the area is paid parking, so you saw this lot where most of the businesses were closed and figured you found a nice spot for "free" parking.

I said that I had been there several times and never had this problem.
- But one thing to think about. If you have done that 7 times before without an issue, you have paid right around $10 to park each time..you just had to pay it all at once. If you have done this more than 7 you have paid less to park each time.

What a scam! To boot, I had a major argument with my date due to this.
- Ha..Ha..Ha.."to boot" that is a good one, but sure sounds like she doesn't agree with you either.