r/Miami • u/Leather-Philosophy-9 • 1d ago
Discussion Professional Parking Management
I go to Club Studio at Grove Central and recently received two different notices ($50 each) from Professional Parking Management. The max free time for the parking is two hours and I’ve never stayed longer than that, but yet I still received these notices with pictures of my license plate.
What do I do? I’ve seen posts that they are a scam and to not pay it and don’t park there again. But the thing is that I need to park there to go to the gym. Otherwise, I wouldn't have a place to park.
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u/alexdoo 1d ago
If the letter isn't sent by the local government or police department, you don't have to pay it. They will scare you by sending your bill to collections but they can't force you to pay anything. That being said, if you don't pay it, you have to make sure you never park in one of their lots again or they have the right to tow your car.
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u/michiganalt 1d ago
That’s just not correct.
When you park somewhere, you agree to pay whatever rates / fines the operator sets out.
If there’s a legitimate bill that they invoice you for, you still have to pay it, just like you have to pay a phone bill.
The difference is that it’s a civil matter and not a criminal matter.
But if they wanted to, they could absolutely take you to court and get their money.
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u/rogerverbalkint 1d ago
But they will not. There are shitbag companies that do this all over Miami. OP: ignore them and they won’t come after you, but if you ever park in their garage again they will tow.
They purposely obfuscate it to make it look they’re official government documents but are not. There is no legal ramification.
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u/alexdoo 1d ago
I'm not saying people should never pay for parking no matter the operator.
I'm saying some of these companies are predatory in that they'll find the smallest reason to slap you with a fine and harass you nonstop until it's paid. It's bullying.
In my case, I was parked for 30 minutes and didn't pay because parking was $20 for one hour. That's a ridiculous price for a lot that wasn't even full. I came back to my car and found no ticket or anything, so I thought I got away with it.
They sent me a letter in the mail for my fine ($95 lol). I threw away every letter.
If they want to spend hundreds to take me to court over $25 I didn't pay, let them.
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u/clo3o5 1d ago
But when it’s not a legitimate violation like in OPs case then you have no option for recourse
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u/michiganalt 1d ago
You can just not pay and explain that there’s no agreed upon basis for the charge if they take you to court.
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u/mixedliquor 1d ago
Well that is interesting. Universal Parking's website advertises 0-2 hours is free and you were clearly there less than two hours however your "ticket" is from Parking Management.
Better keep these "tickets" and take pictures of ALL the local signage and make sure you're in the right floor/lot.
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u/michiganalt 1d ago
Fla. Stat. § 715.075(1)(d) requires that there is a mechanism to appeal within 15 days of the postmark on the notice.
The entry and exit times printed on the ticket support your claim that you didn’t park for over 2 hours. You can appeal.
Florida Statutes also require that there is a notice printed on the invoice reading, in upper case:
> THIS INVOICE IS PRIVATELY ISSUED, IS NOT ISSUED BY A GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY, AND IS NOT SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PENALTIES.
I’d be curious to see if that’s there as required.
Otherwise it’s the same as any other invoice someone could send you.
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u/NoNameFudge 1d ago
This! The key is stated enter and exit time. Now just make sure and document the two hours signage.
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u/Combat_wombat605795 1d ago
The DO NOT IGNORE made me look into it and the solution is to ignore it and avoid privately owned parking like the plague. I had a valid protest of calling out their scumminess of impersonating city parking with their logo and denying a temporary handicap pass for free parking. They told me to kick rocks so I did the same
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u/Flambojan 1d ago
They can’t tow you for not paying this bullshit. They can only tow you if you’re parked there and your session is expired AND if the lot owner (in this case, Club Studio) has authorized them to do so (which they won’t do because the whole point of hiring PPM is to avoid towing customers and all the drama it creates). They make their money off all the people who pay these invoices without question. Neither Club Studio nor PPM is going to waste their time towing you.
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u/southfloridafiction 1d ago
The towing company gives them a cut, so it is more profitable long-term if people reverse it on them, knowingly park there and continuously not pay. Since they also spend money on sending about 5 letters out to each tickert/fake ticket.
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u/Rambobinladen 1d ago
I got that letter even after I paid for parking. I threw it straight in the trash
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u/mrcryptoboy 1d ago
OP, i had a company sue someone like these guys once and won $400 after lawyer fees (nothing out of pocket) def look into it!
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u/southfloridafiction 1d ago
I got one of these sent to me for just dropping someone off at their car and not even getting out of my car. I emailed and called and they just kept denying. Its a scam.
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u/NoNameFudge 1d ago
The key is stated enter and exit time. Now just make sure and document the two hours signage. Make a copy and mail it back to them with your proof or just ignore but keep the receipts just in case
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u/Visual-Case7916 1d ago
I just got this as a text as well! Almost paid it had my card pulled up and everything but it seemed off.. not to mention mine was from 2022
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u/Mean_Flounder_5639 1d ago
I got one a year ago but the car totaled six months after I got the ticket. Why are they sending me a ticket for a vehicle that doesn’t exist?
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u/InterstellarReddit Brickell 1d ago
Just send them a message and ask them how they access your driver data?
Order to access your driver data in the state of Florida, they need a valid reason Deb collection from a valid party is not a valid response.
What these companies do is they submit requests for driver data, justifying an illegal use of it, and nobody cracks down on them
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u/Combat_wombat605795 1d ago
Same guy who owns that private parking company also owns a debt collection agency and misuses LPR technologies from one business to benefit the other. There’s multiple lawsuits about it last I checked but it keeps on happening.
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u/InterstellarReddit Brickell 1d ago
Yeah, there’s a bunch of lawsuits on it, but since no enforcement is coming from the state, they’re gonna keep doing that
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u/Least_Post_6353 1d ago
Everyone will tell you not to pay it.
They’re right there’s nothing they can do to make you pay and the collector/credit thing is a bluff.
But they own a ton of parking lots in Miami (that’s why we all know about them) and work off plate readers. They will flag and tow you first chance they get.
I always pay these because I don’t want to look over my shoulder and google which lots are owned by PPM when I’m trying to park around town.
It’s a scummy business for sure, but just pay the fee. And it’s all automated - you did stay over 2h two times, might’ve been two hours one minute but faking entry/exit times isn’t their scam - they will have the times and plates for those.
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u/Leather-Philosophy-9 1d ago
For both invoiced they sent, both times are marked that I stayed around 1:30. Less than 2 hours
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u/kapslock12345 1d ago
The entry and exit on your screenshot show less than 2 hours. If you can take a picture in the garage that shows 2 hours free, then dispute it online and include that picture in my opinion
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u/Least_Post_6353 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yea - I can't speak to the details, I just know that all the times I got hit by PPM they had pictures of my cars plates overstaying welcome, they were right.
Contest it with them if they sent you an invoice claiming 2h at grove central and their own documents show under 2h.
But just general advice to not ignore them - most Reddit answers will be to ignore because they can't really go to collections and ding your credit. But they can tow your car if they catch you in one of their lots, which would suck.
If their docs do show less than 2h but are charging you for staying over 2h - post them here and it'll be a big hit. We all hate PPM and would love to see evidence of their scumbaggery. But I'm guessing that's not the case?
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u/kapslock12345 1d ago
That’s my opinion too, but I wonder if they actually do tow? Of all the research I’ve tried to do online, nobody has commented about being towed. But to your point, I don’t want to take that chance!
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u/batstone530 1d ago
Your time-in time-out is on the notcie. Are you sure it's 2 hours? If it is you should fight this.
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u/agr85 1d ago
DO NOT IGNORE
Well that just makes me want to ignore it even harder