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Govco vs. PCS

My oh my! Govco does hate it when private folks try to horn in on their extortion racket:

San Francisco Chronicle

Parking scam perpetrators must repay Bay Area victims

Marisa Lagos, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, December 14, 2007

(12-13) 08:34 PST SAN RAFAEL -- A private parking company that left official-looking but fake citations on cars parked in free lots in the Bay Area will have to reimburse people who paid the tickets, according to the Marin County district attorney's office.

Under terms of a settlement reached with Parking Control Service Inc. - also known as PCS - the company will refund all parking charges paid by drivers from March 2003 to Dec. 12, if those people submit a valid claim.

The company will also pay $100,000 in civil penalties and $30,000 to Marin and Sonoma counties for the cost of their two-year investigation into PCS' practices.

According to Marin County District Attorney Edward Berberian, PCS monitors free public and private parking lots at shopping centers and other places in Marin, Sonoma, Alameda, San Francisco and San Mateo counties.

From 2003 to this month, employees of the company would leave written notices that looked like government-issued tickets on cars that allegedly violated the posted parking rules or state laws, Berberian said Wednesday.

The notices demanded that the drivers pay a fine and threatened to have their car towed or immobilized if the parking charges were not paid, he said.

"Consumers complained they were deceived into paying these charges believing PCS was a government entity based on the appearance and wording of the parking notices," Berberian said.

In addition to requiring the reimbursements, the settlement prohibits the company from threatening any actions involving vehicles unless state law allows that. The agreement also requires PCS to make "conspicuous disclosures" on future parking notices that it is not a government agency.

To receive a refund, victims must send proof of payment to the Parking Control Service Settlement Refund, P.O. Box 231, South San Francisco, CA 94083.

The last day to submit a claim is May 10. Any complaints may be e-mailed to the Marin County district attorney's office at consumer @co.marin.ca.us; people may also call the Sonoma County district attorney at (707) 565-3161.

E-mail Marisa Lagos at mlagos@sfchroncile.com.

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