CLEVELAND — Downtown Cleveland parking prices aren't always pretty, but what's even uglier is paying for parking and then being hit with a fine for not doing so.
Yolanda Fair typically parks in the E. Huron Road garage that's privately operated by Metropolis when going to Disney on Ice.
As she purchases her event tickets, she also prepays for parking, which costs her $40 this year.
"People who prepay, you have a little barcode on your phone, you show that to them, and they scan it. When the event is over, it's just, you know, everybody files out. Nobody's paying at the end of the event," Fair said.
Fair parked in the E. Huron Road garage in late January.
Fair has been going to Disney on Ice in downtown Cleveland for the last five years. In that time, she said she had never had issues with parking.
But a notice dated April 22 was sent electronically to Fair, claiming she owed $84.50 for unpaid parking.
She told me she thought it was fraudulent because the initial notice came through as a text.
"I know I hadn't been anywhere recently to need to pay for parking, so it didn't make sense," Fair said.
As she investigated, she confirmed it was a real fine.
"When it showed me online, it broke it down. Only $30 of that 80-some dollars is the parking fee. The rest is the notice fee and the regular fees," Fair said.
The notice also included two pictures of her car, including one that was a close-up of her license plate.
Filled with confusion, Fair posted to Facebook and asked if anyone else had gotten a similar notice, also explaining her situation.
Several people commented, saying they had been fined as well, adding that they also believed the notice was a fake.
In that comment section was Angelica Williams, who told me she parked in that same E. Huron Road garage before heading to a Cavaliers game in December.
"I paid $20 in cash to park. They gave us a sticker that you put in the window as you go into the Cavs game. I thought everything was fine, didn't think anything else of it," Williams said.
Williams said two weeks passed before she got a text message similar to Fair's, claiming she was fined $65.25 for not paying to park despite having done so.
She ignored it because she said she didn't think it was real.
"Couple weeks later, I get another text. 'You owe us for parking down at the Metropolis Garage on East Huron Road,' and I'm like, we were at the Cavs game a couple of weeks ago, but we paid to park," Williams said.
Luckily, Williams said she still had her Cavs ticket as well as the parking sticker she was given after she paid that night.
She said Metropolis has since waived the fine.
"I was very surprised," Williams said. "Gas is $4.29. We can't give extra money to parking garages."
Fair said her fine, too, was waived after chatting with a Metropolis customer service representative who acknowledged she prepaid, but didn't validate it through a Metropolis account.
"I just hope that others are able to have the same outcome that I did, and they don't actually pay them, and they get over [it]," Williams said about the ordeal.
Although Williams and Fair are no longer on the hook for a fine, they want answers.
I reached out to Metropolis on Tuesday, and a spokesperson told me:
"These reservations were made through a third-party provider, and as soon as the error was brought to our attention, we issued full refunds immediately. Metropolis has a significant footprint in downtown Cleveland, delivering a seamless, drive-in, drive-out experience powered by our computer vision technology, with no reservations required. While issues like this are rare, we take them seriously and move quickly to make things right."
If customers ever have questions or need support, Metropolis said its team is available 24/7 through an online portal.
CLICK HERE for more information.
If you ever have issues parking in downtown Cleveland or notice something out of the ordinary, please email me at Kaylee.Olivas@WEWS.com.
