August 5, 2008
Beware the Pretendant
According to KOMO News, there's a new way for you to get screwed by scammers--the pretendant. The Seattle Police have come up with this clever name to describe people who poach parking lots, claiming parkers need to pay them and not the pay box for a variety of reasons. A couple weekends ago we went to a concert at Showbox SODO (Ray Davies--phenomenal) and we paid a somewhat shady dude rather than the pay box. Though we didn't get ticketed by the actual lot owners, we wondered then and definitely now if we were duped. Have any of you fine readers been scammed by pretendants?
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This happens all the time at the lot at 1st and Blanchard. There are two guys that constantly work it during afternoon shifts.
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Sometimes I watch them from the rooftop. I try to call out if the person can actually park, but if they park like garbage I keep my mouth shut.
Oh, I should probably have just put that on post secrets.
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You know, if the lot is not in a highly visible location, it just might make sense to pay both the actual fare box as well as the "pretendant" since they will likely be the ones smashing your car windows to steal stuff if you don't leave them with a good enough bribe/fee.
Also, as appealing as it may be, don't park (for free) in that back alley street behind Showbox SoDo without thinking about the likelihood that your window will get smashed and your car, glove box, etc. will get rifled through.
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Most of the parking lots by Showbox SODO have parking lot attendants during major events, so I think you didn't get scammed in your case. That's just how it is when there's an event down there - there's a random dude or two in the parking lot, sometimes wearing a yellow or orange vest, sometimes not.
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What about the ticket scalpers around Safeco who convince people that the game is sold out. Then they sell $7 bleacher seats for $20. Man, they make me so mad!
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Who believes that Mariners games are sold out?
Does anyone still go to those anymore?
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This reminds me of the time when we drove to Baltimore to visit the National Aquarium. It had just opened and was the HOT tourist attraction on the East Coast. The only parking space I could find was in front of a day shelter, which I thought was great luck on my part to even find a free on-street space in the very crowded downtown.
These two guys come running out of the building, and ask if they can wash my car. Since it was literally only a few days off the VW lot, I wanted to say no, then reconsidered (see Tom's comment)and agreed.
After about 6 hours running around Inner Harbor, we returned to the car, and I have to say, it was the BEST car wash I had ever seen. It was immaculate. Not a fleck of dirt anywhere. The windshields were like mirrors, and the tires looked they had just come from the factory. Flawless.
The guys were sitting on the curb, and I paid them $20 and then bragged to all my friends for days about the sweet car wash I got down in Baltimore, and recommended the spot to all my buddies. "Look for the two guys at the shelter! They'll hook you up!"
Then the parking tickets started arriving in the mail, with late fees, of course. Eventually, I received 12 parking tickets for that one day. The next weekend, I drove back to the spot and saw that the guys had hung a towel over a No Parking sign at my aforementioned lucky parking spot. And another car was parked there, and the same two guys were scrubbing away.
Oh, and across the street? A police station.
The $500 car wash.... Thanks!