Parking ticket fraud ends with settlement

A private parking monitoring and enforcement company accused of unlawful business practices has agreed to refund consumers who were issued written notices resembling government-issued parking citations at free parking lots in five Bay Area counties — including San Mateo County.

Marin County District Attorney Ed Berberian announced the settlement with Parking Control Service Inc. in Marin County Superior Court on Wednesday.

The company will refund all parking charges paid by consumers who received the notices between March 2003 and Wednesday of this week. Motorists must file a valid claim with the company by May 10.

Parking Control Service Inc. of South San Francisco also agreed to pay $100,000 in civil penalties and $30,000 to reimburse the costs of the two-year investigation, Berberian said.

Mark Posard, attorney for PCS Inc., said the settlement was "a collaborative effort between PCS Inc. and the district attorneys to resolve the issues involving consumers.” Posard objected to the characterization of the notices as "fake tickets.”

"I think the final judgment is accurate in what it portrays,” Posard said.

The company contracts with businesses to monitor public and private lots at shopping centers and other locations in Marin, Sonoma, Alameda, San Francisco and San Mateo counties, Berberian’s office said.

Although parking in the lots is free, there were time limit parking violations and violations of prohibitions against parking by non-customers in spaces assigned to businesses, Posard said.

The consumer complaint alleged PCS Inc.’s employees left written notices resembling government-issued parking citations on vehicles allegedly in violation of posted parking rules or the California Vehicle Code.

The notices indicated the consumer was being charged in what appeared to be a fine for the alleged violation, the Marin County District Attorney’s Office said. Consumers complained they were being deceived into paying the charges because they believed PCS Inc. was a government entity based on the appearance and wording of the parking notices, Berberian’s office said.

The notices also threatened to have the consumer’s vehicle towed or immobilized if the parking charges were not mailed to PCS Inc., according to the District Attorney’s Office.

"In the absence of an official-looking ‘citation’ and /or the unlawful threat of future towing or immobilization, consumers would have realized that payment of all parking charges was purely voluntary or enforceable,” the Marin County District Attorney’s Office said.

Deputy District Attorney Andres Perez said the company gave the drivers who received notices 15 or 21 days to pay the charge. He said there is no estimate how much money was paid to PCS Inc. by people in five counties during the four and a half years.

The average charge was for $40, Perez said. PCS Inc. is to submit within two weeks a final accounting of how much money it received from the motorists, Perez said.

Under the stipulated settlement reached Wednesday, the same day the complaint was filed, PCS Inc. also must make conspicuous disclosures on any future parking notices issued stating it is not a government agency and the parking notice is not a government-issued parking citation.

PCS Inc. also is prohibited from threatening any action against a consumer’s vehicle, including towing or immobilization, for nonpayment of any parking charge unless expressly authorized by California law, the district attorney’s office said.

To receive a refund, consumers must have made a payment between March 2003 and Wednesday and must submit proof of payment to Parking Control Service Settlement Refund, P.O. Box 231, South San Francisco, Calif., 94083.

Consumers who do not have proof of payment should provide the license number of the vehicle when calling PCS at (877) 563-9444. Consumers are not required to own or have a financial interest in the ticketed vehicle.