Anyone who works in the New York City or Southern Westchester County and takes the Metro North to work knows all too well how important it is too find a parking space at the train station. Nothing is more aggravating than finding the parking lot full when it is time to go to work. Nothing, that is, other than being forced to pay for “free” weekend parking.
Most of the Metro North parking lots are run by a company called LAZ Parking, who has installed automated parking toll machines at its lots. For commuters that park only on weekdays, the automated machines work nicely, allowing consumers to use cash or credit to pay for a full days’ parking. However, for commuters and other train users that leave their cars during a weekday and wish to pick them up on a weekend, the toll machines are not as ideal.
Prominently displayed next to the automated machines is a sign declaring that weekends and holidays are free, and that the toll machine will automatically deduct the proper amount from multi-day parking payments to reflect the free parking days. For example, a commuter dropping a car Thursday morning who wishes to pick up the car Saturday morning should only be charged for one and a half days, rather than the full two days, because parking is free starting at midnight on Friday. Commuters do not have the option of choosing a specific number of hours, or even half days for parking that lasts more than one full day. Instead, they must choose two full days and trust the automated machine to charge the proper amount.
Unfortunately, that does not appear to always be the case. Whether it is because of a company-wide programming glitch or a callous attempt to over collect from commuters, it appears that at least some of LAZ Parking’s automated machines do not deduct for free weekend parking.
The result is that commuters are forced to overpay. Our team is actively investigating a potential consumer class action against LAZ Parking for its practice of charging for what should be free weekend parking. If you or someone you know has been overcharged for parking at a Metro North parking lot, please contact us to discuss your legal options.