Do not park at privately owned garages (or Metropolis-owned ones) around Austin

Let me tell y’all about my nightmare experience this weekend with one of these new-age, QR-code-demanding, privately owned parking garages that are everywhere downtown now.

I pulled into the garage, scanned the QR code (already annoyed because why can’t I just pay at a machine?), and was greeted by the slowest interface imaginable. It asked for all my info—email, name, blood type (kidding, but honestly, wouldn’t be surprised)—and then, without even asking for my license plate number, it automatically opened a session under my main vehicle on file. Didn’t even realize I had a prior account with them, because I had to enter all my other info, card details etc.

I kept hitting “Next,” thinking, Surely I’ll get to the part where I can add my friend’s car license plate. Nope. It dumped me straight into the payment window. At that point, I realized there was no way to cancel the session, no way to start a new one, and no way to get help unless I hunted through the FAQ like I was on some poorly constructed scavenger hunt. The only “contact support” option was a tiny hyperlink buried in one random FAQ answer that said, “contact us here.”

Fast forward, the super-advanced-high-tech garage camera technology it claims to have obviously didn’t see my car leave because it never entered, but that didn’t stop them from automatically charging me after 2 days—$16 gone. I immediately contacted support on Saturday night, only to get a response from some guy today (Tuesday) at 8pm who said he was “pleased to inform me” that he could give me a ONE-TIME refund of $4.99. And then he added, “To avoid this in the future, don’t make this mistake again.” Like, excuse me? Hell. No. He also claimed I came with another license plate, that was 100% not my friend’s car I was in that night. My friend, whose car I was in, made a completely separate session on his own phone because I couldn’t open a new one. So he paid the $16 already and I told this originally in my message to support.

I’ve lived in Austin for 23 years, and I swear these garages are a new breed of predatory nonsense. Even Trader Joe’s has one of these hellholes now. This isn’t even my first bad experience. A couple of years ago, I parked in a garage where the local business had a sign saying, “Free parking here!” I scanned the code, entered my license plate, and the link confirmed, Yep, parking is free for this business.

Fast forward two weeks later, I get a letter in the mail from a law firm threatening to sue me if I don’t cough up $40 for parking “without payment.” Are you kidding me?

This system is predatory, frustrating, and honestly feels designed to screw people over at every turn. It’s embarrassing that Austin—my hometown—is letting this kind of crap run rampant downtown. PSA do not park at these garages if you value your sanity.