March 4, 2026 at 7:23 am

A Parking Garage Tried Scamming Him For Extra Money, So He Took Them To The Bank

by Liz Wiest

driver waiting in a taxi

Pexels/Reddit

Worrying about parking is one of the biggest downsides of living in a city.

What would you do if a parking garage tried to start a war with you over 30 extra minutes? One guy recently shared his stealthy approach to circumventing a fine with Reddit. Here’s what went down.

Parked for 30 minutes longer than I paid for

I went to a downtown restaurant last year and as in many downtown areas, street parking is hard to find.

I ended up parking in a lot and paid for 2 hours.

I can’t quite remember how much it was, but I’m gonna guess it was about $30.

A steal compared to some cities.

I ended up over staying my allotted time by 30 minutes.

No big deal, I thought.

About a week later, I get a bill from the company that owns the lot.

Parking garages are sneaky like that.

They wanted to charge me $80 for the 30 minutes.

I tried calling to dispute the charge, and while they did give me $20 off, I was still on the hook for $60…for half an hour of parking.

So, I went to my bank account and scheduled 30 monthly payments of $2 figuring that if they’re going to charge me, I’d create the hassle of them having to process a $2 check every month.

It’s a bold move, but it could work.

I guess they decided that it wasn’t worth it.

Because today, after only 10 payments, I got the 11th check back in the mail with a note that my account has been paid in full.

They wrote off $40 just to not have to process my $2 checks anymore, lol.

Many places will stop scamming once it becomes inconvenient. Let’s see how the Reddit community chimed in here.

Apparently, this sort of issue isn’t new.
Screenshot 2026 01 28 at 10.47.03 AM A Parking Garage Tried Scamming Him For Extra Money, So He Took Them To The Bank

Some people were simply baffled.
Screenshot 2026 01 28 at 10.47.24 AM A Parking Garage Tried Scamming Him For Extra Money, So He Took Them To The Bank

One person issued a word of warning.
Screenshot 2026 01 28 at 10.47.43 AM A Parking Garage Tried Scamming Him For Extra Money, So He Took Them To The Bank

Another balked at the audacity of these businesses.
Screenshot 2026 01 28 at 10.47.54 AM A Parking Garage Tried Scamming Him For Extra Money, So He Took Them To The Bank

Someone pointed out this method could be applied elsewhere.
Screenshot 2026 01 28 at 10.48.06 AM A Parking Garage Tried Scamming Him For Extra Money, So He Took Them To The Bank

Corporations will never stop scamming customers if we let them.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.