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ALERT !! RIP OFF !! Venice Beach Parking

Sacramento...
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101 posts
5 reviews
3 helpful votes
ALERT !! RIP OFF !! Venice Beach Parking
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I went to venice beach. Just before reaching beach, there is a board with left arrow which says "PUBLIC PARKING". I went to that direction. A guy came to my car. Asked to getdown and give the car so that he will park it. It is a small place for parking and around 10 cars are parked there. Then his boss came told that they will park and gave ticket to me. It is told $25 and they will take only cash. I thought that its default fee. I gave money and they parked the car. Then after walking down few feet, i saw the real public parking on the beach which is $5 i think. OMG ! i realized that I am ripped off !! So beware of these fraud public parking guys out there.

Santa Monica...
Destination Expert
for Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Mammoth Lakes
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37,517 posts
49 reviews
44 helpful votes
1. Re: ALERT !! RIP OFF !! Venice Beach Parking
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It's not fraud public parking, it was a fraud, period. Nothing to do with public parking. You're lucky your car wasn't stolen.

Santa Monica...
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25,016 posts
244 reviews
163 helpful votes
2. Re: ALERT !! RIP OFF !! Venice Beach Parking
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Welcome to Venice Beach! It used to be boho fun, but all the residences have been turned into defacto hotels thanks to Airbnb, there are no more locals, it's a tourist trap. Please, will the last tourist to leave for the season, turn off the lights? Thank you.

Seriously - parking is cheaper at Santa Monica beaches. Santa Monica is an independent city with a well trained police department, we are safer. And because there are real live Californians here, we'd have had that illegal lot shut down pronto. Walk between the two. Be away from Venice Beach boardwalk when it gets dark, again, Santa Monica is safer.

New Hampshire
Destination Expert
for Israel
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19,901 posts
23 reviews
12 helpful votes
3. Re: ALERT !! RIP OFF !! Venice Beach Parking
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When you saw the $5 sign did you go back and call the cops? If this was fraud or anything related to that I would think a crime occurred and the cops should be involved.

Sacramento...
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101 posts
5 reviews
3 helpful votes
4. Re: ALERT !! RIP OFF !! Venice Beach Parking
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I was a tourist and with 2 infants with me. So i didnt want to spend time on police complaint and follow up with this. for me safety was the biggest concern then.

How can they keep such a fake big board saying "PUBLIC PARKING" and police did not notice it ? strange !!

or those guys are so powerful mafia?

Dublin, California
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37,287 posts
49 reviews
18 helpful votes
5. Re: ALERT !! RIP OFF !! Venice Beach Parking
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How is the big board faked? It does point to public parking. As you said, go further down and there is public parking for $5. Sorry this happened to you. I am much more cynical and would not have given my car to some random guy.

New Hampshire
Destination Expert
for Israel
Level Contributor
19,901 posts
23 reviews
12 helpful votes
6. Re: ALERT !! RIP OFF !! Venice Beach Parking
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I'm sorry but I don't think you were ripped off. Maybe you overpaid somewhat but it seems you had a choice to pay or not.

The police see those signs all the time and I guarantee if there was an issue with the legality of it they would take care of it immediately.

Sounds like you drove into someone's private lot and they are marketing it to the public. It's not a city sponsored lot and they can charge whatever the market bears.

Hope you had an enjoyable time regardless.

Sacramento...
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101 posts
5 reviews
3 helpful votes
7. Re: ALERT !! RIP OFF !! Venice Beach Parking
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yup. it happened to me and i saw that it happened to others also.

As a tourist, i thought $25 is the parking fee in venice beach. I didnt know that $5 parking there was there.

I posted it here so that others should be beware.

Level Contributor
14,506 posts
10 reviews
2 helpful votes
8. Re: ALERT !! RIP OFF !! Venice Beach Parking
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Thank you for posting. I will beware.

Corona del Mar...
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75,530 posts
408 reviews
723 helpful votes
9. Re: ALERT !! RIP OFF !! Venice Beach Parking
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>>>How can they keep such a fake big board saying "PUBLIC PARKING" and police did not notice it ? strange !!<<<

It might be a rip off, but it isn't fraud or fake. It is public parking as opposed to private parking. Anyone is welcome to park there for the fee.

Public Parking doesn't mean government owned or sponsored. Most of the "public" lots in LA are privately owned.

West Hollywood...
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33,619 posts
56 reviews
223 helpful votes
10. Re: ALERT !! RIP OFF !! Venice Beach Parking
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What Scott said.

In a similar vein, I've learned from traveling that there are usually 2 economies existing in every city I visit:

a. The local economy

b. The tourist economy

Examples:

1. On a recent trip to Budapest, we ate at several restaurants along the main road running through the city. Then one day, we decided to walk a couple of blocks from the main road and found that prices there were 1/2 the price of places on the main road.

2. During my last visit to Jamaica, I was quoted a $100 'airport transfer' fee for a taxi from my hotel to Montego Bay. I then walked 1 block off the main road and found a lot with taxis and shuttle buses. I asked the dispatcher for the fare to Montego Bay airport. He said: "It depends on the vehicle" For a private taxi, it's $40. For a 'shared van', it's $40 Jamaican. I asked him how much that was in U.S. dollars and he told me. $1.37. (We took the van). By doing a little research, our transfer fee went from $100 down to $2.74.

The mistake you made was ASSUMING that the $25 was the standard fee for all parking in the area. It isn't. Owners of parking areas can charge whatever they like. It's America. Just as you wouldn't buy a car at the 'sticker price", you should never have assumed that you couldn't get a better price on parking.

(Lastly, the only way it have been fraud is if the sign had said "Parking; $5" and then they charged you $25. Were you ripped off? No. That could only have happened if ALL of the parking areas charged $25 -- like in SF, where you can't park your car anywhere for less than $50/day. Now, that's a ripoff!

Edited: 6 years ago
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