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A DEBATE has erupted online over parking fees at hospitals after a man was forced to pay $138 to keep his car in a garage.
The driver was left with the hefty bill after parking his car in the Texas Medical Center’s garage for six days.
The TikTok user found he was charged $138 for parking in a hospital garage[/caption]
The man shared his frustration in a viral video on TikTok under the handle @magamgams.
The video, which was posted on Tuesday but has since been deleted, was captioned, “Don’t ever park at the hospital!”
The clip showed him inserting his parking ticket in a parking garage at Texas Medical Center in Houston.
The screen said after parking at the hospital for six days, the dad owed $128.
Plus, the garage added a fee of $10.56, bringing the total to $138.56.
“Everyone’s scared of how much is the parking gonna be for six days at the hospital?” the TikTok user asked in the video.
“Are you kidding me?” he then asked when he saw the amount.
“$138, oh my gosh.”
Outraged viewers flocked to the comment section of the clip to share their thoughts.
“Charging at the hospital is diabolical,” one person wrote.
“This should be illegal!” another fumed.
Rules listed at the bottom of the parking garage machine in the video showed a lost ticket at the machine would cost $30.
Cheeky TikTok users advised the driver could avoid the $138 ticket by simply saying he lost it – bringing the cost to $30.
“Sometimes it’s cheaper to pay the lost ticket fee. Don’t ask me how I know,” one user wrote.
“That $30 lost ticket fee looking mighty nice right about now,” another added.
How to fight a parking ticket
You can avoid being ticketed by following all posted laws and ordinances, but sometimes mistakes are made
Like any form of citation, parking tickets are preventable by reading and obeying posted signage. However, when visiting a new city, or state, or in a hurry, things can be missed and mistakes are made.
Suddenly there’s a ticket you weren’t prepared to pay for. If the ticket is a surprise to you, there are a few things you can do to help your case when appealing a parking ticket.
- Carefully read the ticket. Look for errors like incorrect street names, license plate numbers, vehicle make and model, time and date, etc. Errors would then make the ticket invalid.
- Take photos. Of the vehicle in the parking space, lack of signage, or other vehicles that weren’t cited for performing the same parking job. If the ticket involves parking too close to something like a fire hydrant, a photo showing a reasonable distance would help your case. Make sure metadata with the time and date are accessible. Signs that are obstructed by trees, or are on bent posts, or aren’t “obvious” are great things to photograph, too.
- Make sure the statute that was violated is listed on the ticket. If not listed, the ticket is not valid.
- Promptly follow the appeal instructions on the ticket. All legitimate tickets will have directions for appeal. Waiting until the very last moment weakens your argument and can result in late fees.
- When in court, avoid these phrases as they reduce your credibility and weaken your argument:
- “I didn’t know the law.”
- “I was on my way to move my car.”
- “I can’t afford this ticket.”
- “I’ve been doing this for years.”
- “I checked with the parking officer, who said it was OK.”
- Contact a lawyer. If you’re running into roadblocks and feel stuck, it may be best to reach out to a traffic lawyer in your area. Many have free case consultations.
Source: Reader’s Digest
A different viewer had a different piece of advice for anyone who can’t afford to fork out that much cash on top of the cost of a hospital visit.
“I forgot my wallet once and accidentally figured out that if you tell the hospital you can’t pay, they pull out a free parking voucher – no questions asked,” that person wrote.
The original poster then responded, “WELCOME TO THE TOP 10 PARKING GARAGE SECRETS!
“Number One: Forget Wallet.”
The U.S. Sun tracked down parking information on the the hospital’s website.
The facility offers value passes for visitors who need to park for multiple days.
The value passes start at $52 each.
For normal parking rates, visitors are charged $19 per day. Like the TikTok users saw, the lost ticket fee is $30.
There was one bright side – costs from hospital parking tickets can typically be reimbursed with money from a health savings account.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the TikToker and TMC for comment.
The Texas hospital charges $19 a day for parking (stock image)[/caption]
