BOSTON (WHDH) - A local man thought reserving a parking spot through a popular app would save him some stress but instead his car was towed.
7 Investigates found he’s not alone in what some drivers say is a parking problem.
Brayden Waterman thought he scored the perfect parking spot in a busy Boston neighborhood.
“Yep, right here, here’s where I parked,” Brayden said.
He paid $63 to park that night through SpotHero, an app that helps people find privately owned parking spots that are available for short-term use.
“It was very clear as to where the spot was,” Brayden said.
The app guided him with specific instructions to this spot, tucked away behind a condo complex, with one requirement.
“It’s gonna be towed if you don’t park inside the lines, which I did,” Brayden said.
“I was very frustrated, I was very mad, I was very scared,” he said. “I don’t know if I would be able to get back home.”
7 Investigates discovered that Brayden isn’t alone. Even though SpotHero is highly rated overall, complaints can be found on the Better Business Bureau website and the SpotHero app.
Some of the comments said their car got towed, the spot sold doesn’t exist or customers were sold a pass that wasn’t accepted by the garage.
We asked SpotHero about these issues.
“We don’t see that a lot,” said Chris Stevens, the chief marketing officer of SpotHero. “When you’re buying most places on SpotHero, you’re dealing with reputable businesses that have been in business for a long time.”
SpotHero works by allowing people or businesses to rent out their parking spaces through the app. Think of it as the Airbnb for parking.
“For people using your app going to an event, what would you say the chances are that when they come back, their car was still be there?” 7’s Dave Puglisi asked.
“I’d say that’s a pretty damn good bet that that’s gonna be the case,” Stevens said.
In Brayden’s case, SpotHero refunded the parking fee but not the extra $150 for the tow. They claimed he parked in the wrong place.
But 7 Investigates proved he parked in the right spot, so the company offered to refund his tow.
“I wish we had taken a closer look at that receipt the first time,” Stevens said. “The facts were to the advantage of the customer.”
SpotHero said the likely cause of Brayden’s tow was a miscommunication between the parking spot owner and the tow company patrolling the lot.
If the company notices a trend of bad activity with a particular spot, they will remove it from the app.
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