“Is This Illegal?”: Driver Taps Card for Concert Parking—Only to Realize He Was Never Charged
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If you bought tickets to a concert and arrived at the concert venue, would you expect to be able to park for free, or would you expect to be charged for parking?
At least where I live, almost everywhere charges for parking. There are even some spots at my local mall parking lot that charge for parking. Knowing you’re going to pay extra has unfortunately become a way of life, especially at big events like concerts.
So, no, I wouldn’t be surprised I’d have to pay for parking, but that doesn’t mean I’d like it. That’s why I can relate to the guy who wrote this story. He went to a concert with his wife and begrudgingly paid $10 to park his car at the venue.
However, the story doesn’t end there. There’s an interesting twist that’s pretty satisfying!
Let’s read all about it.
Try to charge me extra for parking…
My wife and I went to go see a band that I really like last week. Since they don’t tour often, I was willing to cough up the $200+ to go see them live.
I was stoked.
When we got to the venue, however, I was surprised to see people standing outside of the parking lot next to a “Event Parking $10” sign.
I was obviously pretty upset. I mean, $10 on top of what I already paid isn’t much, but it’s the principle that they’re trying to squeeze more money out of me, which I didn’t like.
But he had no choice but to pay for parking.
Anyway, I pulled up and they asked for $10 cash.
I didn’t have cash, but asked if I could pay with a credit card because I’m an adult and it’s 2018.
They pointed me to another person further down the line with a credit card terminal.
I pulled up and begrudgingly handed him my card when he asked for it. He charged it and handed me a receipt and asked me to sign.
This is surprising!
However, when I got the receipt, where I was supposed to sign it had the word “DEMO” printed across the signature line. I assumed this meant that they accidentally had their card reader in a testing mode and that any card they ran in that mode wouldn’t actually get charged.
I briefly thought about telling them about their mistake, but I was already miffed about being charged to park. So I happily signed the demo receipt.
Then, we went and enjoyed the show. It was fantastic.
That night after I got home, I checked my credit card app. Sure enough, there was no $10 charge for parking. So I, and everyone else who paid with a credit card for parking that night, got to park for free.
Wow! That worked out well!
Let’s see how Reddit responded to this story.
It really isn’t a lot to pay for parking.
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I don’t think I’d park on the streets.
Yes, they charge for parking because they can.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a grandson who is tired of driving 5 hours one way to work on his grandparent’s investment property for free.
Parking can often cost a lot more than $10.
I think every single person who commented missed the point. Yes, he was charged for parking. No, he didn’t like it and even expressed that he was surprised by it. That’s what they all seem to be bothered by. He was surprised he had to pay for parking.
The whole point of this story is that he ended up not having to pay for parking. It was an error that worked in his favor.
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