 
Jt1
Member
Username: Jt1
Post Number: 9949
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 12:49 pm: |    |
Did anyone see this non-sense? Am I supposed to feel sorry for the people that get taken or laugh at them?
In the one clip the guy selling spots illegally even stated "this ticket is to make it look legal" to someone that was paying to park.
Do they really feel the need to run this 'expose' every year? |
Craig
Member
Username: Craig
Post Number: 331
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 1:00 pm: | |
I missed this. Is this "the story" re: attendees of sporting events paying renegades to park in lots not owned by said renegades?
I feel a little ambivalent too, if this is the piece. Good for "the news" for informing the public, but it's the cost of doing business or attending events(lest you think I've joined the dark side I'll add that I'd say the same thing about the rent-to-own places). |
Jt1
Member
Username: Jt1
Post Number: 9953
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 1:01 pm: | |
quote:I missed this. Is this "the story" re: attendees of sporting events paying renegades to park in lots not owned by said renegades?
Yep, that same old tired story. |
Craig
Member
Username: Craig
Post Number: 333
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 1:12 pm: | |
Well, news you can use, y'know. A little better than the stuff that I pull in off of the NBC affiliate to the north: no matter the lead story there will be a remote cam for man-on-street interviews with people stopped to pump gas.
Days like that I pray for a "man bit a dog" story. |
Waz
Member
Username: Waz
Post Number: 190
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 2:30 pm: | |
I got screwed over by some punk in a lot on Opdyke before a Lions game at the Silverdome several years ago. I blamed myself (it probably didn't help that we did some "tailgating" at home prior heading to the game). I deserved to be laughed at, but I got over it. |
Lilpup
Member
Username: Lilpup
Post Number: 2698
Registered: 06-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 2:59 pm: | |
Not really the same old story. The new twist is that the lots the conmen are using are city owned and the city has been ticketing cars parked there during games. |
Perfectgentleman
Member
Username: Perfectgentleman
Post Number: 2250
Registered: 03-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 3:07 pm: | |
I was sucked into a variation of this scam down by St. Andrews, a dude was standing in a public parking spot and waved me in, then hit me up for a donation to his "church" for saving me the cost of paying for parking.
He had little fliers and everything. Like an idiot I gave him 10 bucks which was probably more expensive than paying for parking! I wish they would broom these people out of the area.
They should charge a premium on tickets to pay for more cops and food for the bums, anything to get them the hell out of there.  |
Dannyv
Member
Username: Dannyv
Post Number: 9
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 9:46 pm: | |
The curious thing about this story is that the city-owned lots have no signs stating that on the fencing surrounding the parking lot. Parking enforcement is nowhere to be seen when the scam is perpetrated but show up afterwards to ticket the offending vehicle. Something doesn't smell right. I wonder if there is some collusion between the scam artists and the parking enforcement officers. Perhaps the officers are getting a kickback for looking the other way, as well as, looking good by their "job performance". |
Lilpup
Member
Username: Lilpup
Post Number: 2699
Registered: 06-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 9:51 pm: | |
When asked the parking enforcement officers said there had been signs, but the cons took them down. Later the newsies showed one of the scammers taking down fencing the city had put up. |
Treble484
Member
Username: Treble484
Post Number: 35
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 10:27 pm: | |
Me thinks that the city looks the other way so it can rake in the fines from the tickets, and only pays attention when the news starts looking into it. |
Dannyv
Member
Username: Dannyv
Post Number: 11
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 10:30 pm: | |
Yeah, I saw all that...except for any signs being up. I see it as a win-win-win-lose situation. The scammers get their $20+. The City gets it's $30. The parking enforcement officer gets his cut of the scammers loot plus a good job performance. And the poor sports fan pays everybody's bills. |
Udmphikapbob
Member
Username: Udmphikapbob
Post Number: 442
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 8:48 am: | |
Did they say anything about a joker with a "party police" hat soliciting donations for a Meals-on-Wheels program? This guy cornered my wife and I, and hands out cheesy Chinese Tiger hats and vulgar bumper stickers like "practice safe sex - go F yourself", then asks for donations. He had some kind of credential that looked legit, and we gave him some cash for the hats. I really hope it was for a charity other than this cat's wallet... |
6nois
Member
Username: 6nois
Post Number: 482
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 10:02 am: | |
If you don't wanna get scammed parking why don't you park in a parking deck, its not like there is a lack of them around town. |
Waxx
Member
Username: Waxx
Post Number: 261
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 11:07 am: | |
Well, to some who stay close by, we could always catch the bus or walk to the games and save ourselves a ton of cash-that'll really piss off the scammers (sarcastically thinking out loud here).
I will agress with 6nois, though. Parking decks are somewhat cheaper, and if you're in a certain deck that has 'validation' for parking, well you got a good spot @ a good price.
I 'll say this also, the worst thing you could do 2 a scam artist is beat him at his/her own game, and that person will never bother you again....
The stories I could tell about that...! |
Ffdfd
Member
Username: Ffdfd
Post Number: 172
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 11:17 am: | |
There is regular eye-in-the-sky documentation of this scam on another local message board. Oh, I suppose I should add a random series of these *********. |
Wally
Member
Username: Wally
Post Number: 301
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 11:38 am: | |
quote:I 'll say this also, the worst thing you could do 2 a scam artist is beat him at his/her own game, and that person will never bother you again....
The stories I could tell about that...!
Waxx, please entertain us with at least one story!
I remember some dude tried to get me for some $$$ after I already paid the parking attendant. Either one or both of them were scammers. I told him I paid the dude in the booth and let them duke it out amongst themselves and went in to the show. Then, coming out of the show, some guy wearing brand new looking name brand sportswear with a teddy bear tried hitting me up for some cash. All he got were two lung-fulls of exhaust. |
Pete
Member
Username: Pete
Post Number: 94
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 12:58 pm: | |
Just ignore these people! I used to get hit up about once a week parking for work in the old parking garage next to the DTE Energy Building downtown. Did they ever get a dime from me? No. They were always the same people with the same scam. I was hit up on my way in to the Downtown YMCA this morning. I simply said, "Sorry." When I took my kid to a show at the Fox this past winter, I had the scam guy that waived me in to a metered spot on Park. He even had an orange vest and a roll of bills that he had been collecting. He told me it was five bucks parking. I told him to go screw himself and walked away. In fact, I don't think I've paid to park downtown in the last nine years, other than feeding a meter. You can always, always, always find meter spots during Tiger and Lions games and just about any show night downtown.
Bottom line, don't be a sucker and just ignore the panhandlers and scammers. Or, if you're up for it, tell them off. |
Waxx
Member
Username: Waxx
Post Number: 263
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 2:03 pm: | |
Wally,
I'll be as brief as I can about this one dude I went to school with. I would say that because of nice-guyness and naivete, I got played @ every opportunity. Time doesn't permit for to go into detail but I'll just say this. This cat was an all-out hustler and he didn't like it once I gave him a dose of his own medicine-in spades! But I'd lend him money, food, and other items. He even mentioned bootleg VHS tapes he was selling for $20.00. And me being the dimbulb-I was 21 at the time-that I was, I started buying them, and thankfully the reception was good, but I didn't like them after time. BTW, he was one of those guys who would sell stuff and if you didn't like the product, you couldn't get your money back. This A-hole was so slick, he even asked if I was going to lend him 20 bones (that's what we called dollars in the hood back then) that he [presumably] asked for , and I didn't catch onto it until later and I thought; 'I never said I was loan him anything. Especially after the way he's been hustlin' me all this time'. So I talked it over with some coworkers and they told me about some experiences that they had with some other individuals like this guy. So I devised a plan. For every time this joker asks for that $20, I'll give him a dollar a day until it added up to the 20. And if he asks about the $20 again, on the 19th day (if it were to go that far) I would've said "I gave it to you already" I was willing to take it THAT far just to let him know that if you wanna play these games, baby, I'll play 'em with you just to see how much (nonsense) you can take as well as dish out. That dude was PISSED OFF to the highest of pisstivity when I got his (behind). And I got him good, too.
Would I do that to him (or anyone else) again? If they tried to screw me (or those close to me), HECK YEAH!
Moral to these stories is: YOU'RE GONNA GET CAUGHT! You cannot be cheating people out of what little means they have just so you can have a more comfortable lifestyle, it doesn't work like that. As quiet as it's kept, the scam artist would rather be caught by the common people instead of the cops (but then again I don't know, [some of] these cops are just as bent as the scammers).
BTW, that $20 incidient, it didn't even get past 3 bucks! I believe he finally knew that I knew that I caught on to his (nonsense), that little (butt)hole!
(Message edited by waxx on September 06, 2007)
(Message edited by waxx on September 06, 2007)
(Message edited by waxx on September 06, 2007) |
Waxx
Member
Username: Waxx
Post Number: 264
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 2:21 pm: | |
Another thing as well. Does anyone remember Alvin and the Chipmunks from the 80s? I ask that question for this one reason to validate was I was talking about on the previous thread. There was this guy named Uncle Harry who was supposedly a 'relative' of the Chipmunks. And Alvin and his brothers were doing a deal with Harry and he had the chipmunks sign a contract (that had clauses, I was too young to know about the legal system at the time) and to make a long story short, 'Uncle Harry' got all the spoils and left the chipmunks hanging and thankfully Dave Seville saved them from further damage to their careers and reputations.
It gets better, though. Time had went on and Uncle Harry resurfaces and this time, he hustles the Chipettes (the Chipmunks' girlfriends) and does even worse to them what he did to the chipmunks. The Chipettes were so in shock by what had happened, the Chipmunks asked the girls what had happened, so piece by piece they related the incidient and when they described thier agent, the chipmunks were pissed, to say the least. So when Uncle Harry least expected it, he got a package with crumpled paper and a note saying 'here's your slice of the pie' which was literally a slice of apple pie. And the chipmunks and chipettes drove past Harry in a limo laughing at him and Uncle Harry cried like a little (girl). Being a kid at that time, I actually felt sorry for him. Now 25 years later, I think back and laugh, too saying "Yeah, Mother(expletive), You had it comin'!"
Payback's a (dog), ain't it?
I just had to add this story (hoping that it would make some of us feel better). I'm surprised no one made any issues about going to the fairs/carnivals and heading to the booths-the ones where you throw rings on bottles or my personal favourite, throwing darts at balloons (where the rings are 'fixed' and the darts are dulled). I saw a special on 20/20 about that back in '94. Does anyone remember that?
(Message edited by waxx on September 06, 2007)
(Message edited by waxx on September 06, 2007) |
Treble484
Member
Username: Treble484
Post Number: 36
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 6:28 pm: | |
Hey Waxx, the Basketball nets are oval so the ball can only get through if it lands perfect. What scammers at carnivals. I park underground at GCP |
Waxx
Member
Username: Waxx
Post Number: 265
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 11:03 pm: | |
DANG! These [wankers] think of everything, don't they? |