ATLANTA — A man says his car was booted all because he couldn't pay at a broken parking kiosk.
"A lot of the meters on this whole entire strip are down, still they will come out and just boot people regardless," Brax Baker told Channel 2's Carl Willis.
Baker said the pay kiosks for some of the private lotsin Atlanta are down frequently and when drivers walk away, they get a boot on their wheels.
"It's just terrible and some of them will try to pocket money, they'll be like, 'I'll do this favor for you if you give me $40 right now. I can take it off for you,'" another driver said.
Henry Perry said he was recently booted after parking in a lot on Edgewood.
He said the kiosk didn't even power up when he tried to pay, yet he was booted minutes after visiting a nearby restaurant.
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"Let's just be clear, it's extortion. It's extortion at its finest," Perry told Willis over the phone.
He said he called the police when the booter tried to cut a cash deal with him to remove it.
Willis even saw a food delivery driver get locked down in the same lot as he and a Channel 2 photographer were putting this story together.
As they were watching, camera rolling, he got his removed without much discussion.
A public hearing is set for Friday morning to address the problem.
Willis learned proposed legislation includes lowering fees, having employees wear company uniforms, use of self-release boots and the creation of uniform signage.
Proposed legislation would change the city of Atlanta's code, including lowering the fees charged by booting companies, requiring employees to wear company uniforms, requiring companies to use self-release boots and creating uniform signage to be posted on private property.
"If you allowing private vendors to actually boot cars, yes, please regulate this," Perry said.
Cox Media Group
