Towed customers raise concerns over QR codes in Northgate parking lots

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) -Increasingly, cashless parking is gaining popularity and convenience as people gravitate towards carrying web-connected phones over cash. Many parking facilities across the country now employ mobile apps or QR codes to collect payment, those black-and-white squares leading to a website that collects information for convenient payment.

One woman told KBTX her visit to Northgate this past weekend was anything but convenient after her car was towed over what she called a “glitch” with the QR code she scanned when parking.

ParkMobile is a mobile and web app for parking payments in North America, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Users can pay for on-street and off-street parking via the app, web browser, or phone call. They manage more than a dozen parking lots around Northgate, Texas A&M, and College Station.

Concerns arise about QR codes and accuracy in Northgate parking lots following towing incidents. (Donnie Tuggle/Bryan-College Station)

Nadya Lopez says she scanned the ParkMobile QR code at the Coyote Lot on Patricia Street in Northgate and paid for what she thought was a parking spot for two hours.

When she got back to the lot after what she said was only 40 minutes, her car had been towed, and she had to travel to Bryan to get it.

At that point, she looked back at the receipt and discovered she’d been marked in a spot in St. Cloud, Minnesota. It’s her belief the data for the zone and parking spaces was transposed through a glitch during the scanning and payment process.

Lopez says she and her friend double-checked all the entries before checking out of the app. Lopez says she also noticed that options like using Apple Pay were not immediately available, which she says seemed odd.

Concerns arise about QR codes and accuracy in Northgate parking lots following towing incidents. (Donnie Tuggle/Bryan-College Station)

“I had a friend with me and she even scanned it as well because it was also taking a minute on my end to load. Once we got everything to load, I put in all the information that we needed to put in and paid for my parking, and everything went through,” said Lopez. “We also noticed when I was getting ready to pay, for some reason on my end, it didn’t give me an option for Apple Pay, which I thought was also a weird little glitch.”

“My payment went through,” she furthered. “I put it in manually, and so we thought that we were good for the night. This is my first time using Park Mobile, but we made sure that everything was correct.”

When Lopez got to the tow yard in Bryan, not only did she learn she had to pay $328 to get her car back, but says she was told others had the same issues with parking in Northgate.

“Once we arrived at the tow company, I also had the sheriff’s office arrive at the same time that I arrived there, just to be on the safe side because like I said, I did pay and I did everything on my end correctly,” said Lopez. “When I first arrived, she already knew about the situation before I really even said anything. I had brought up that I got towed at Northgate at the Coyote parking lot here behind Chimy’s, and she said, ‘Did you use Park Mobile?’ And I said, ‘Yes, ma’am.’ And she also asked me if I scanned the QR code or if I might’ve just typed in something wrong.”

“I said, ‘We reviewed, I didn’t do anything wrong on my end. We put in the correct license plate number.’ But I did tell her I did scan the QR code, and she said that I’m not the first person that they’ve heard of where they’ve had a glitch with the QR code where people have put in the correct information, but for some reason, it’s placing their parking number, I guess as their lot number, which is putting them into different states,” said Lopez.

Concerns arise about QR codes and accuracy in Northgate parking lots following towing incidents. (Donnie Tuggle/Bryan-College Station)

The Brazos County Sheriff’s Office told KBTX that they’ve gotten at least three recent reports of third-party disputes regarding towing issues in the Northgate area. The specifics of the complaints were not immediately available, but the sheriff’s office says the calls were for a civil dispute between the reporting parties. KBTX has also filed an open records request with the City of College Station to get copies of complaints that have been filed, as the lots are within the city limits. The towing yards in some of the cases are outside the city limits, and KBTX is also seeking copies of those reports through open records.

Lopez feels that if there is an issue with the QR codes displayed at Northgate lots and towing companies are aware, there should be some protocols put into place to prevent people from being towed.

“I just don’t want other people to have to go through the same situation,” said Lopez. “At this point, I just want Park Mobile to fix it on their end and maybe have a little bit better communication with the tow companies because I feel like if people are already knowing about the situation, I just want it to be more aware, so it doesn’t happen to others.”

In a statement, Park Mobile says they don’t comment publicly on customer issues but take each concern seriously. They urge customers to ensure all information is correct before finalizing their transactions.

While the Central Texas Better Business Bureau does not comment on specific cases, they emphasize the importance of verifying information when QR codes are involved, as they have been used fraudulently in scams in the past.

Reports and warnings have highlighted QR codes directing users to phishing websites, fraudulent payment portals, or downloads that infect devices with viruses or malware. These fraudulent QR codes are often found on parking meters, leading victims to assume they can pay for parking through them, resulting in towing or fines.

Katie Galan, regional director for the Better Business Bureau reiterated the need for taking your time while using QR codes and also suggested downloading the company’s app if they have one.

“We’re so fast-paced now, and that’s just the nature of the world that we live in. We want things really quickly and everybody’s moving really fast and we all are really busy and have things to do. So sometimes we don’t want to do these double checks and we don’t want to take the extra minute or two… to check things over, but that really is going to save us in the long run,” said Galan.

“You definitely want to double-check all of your information that you’re inputting in there. And of course, you know, definitely take those screenshots. That’s very helpful,” Galan added. ” So take the screenshots of what you’re inputting, take pictures of your vehicle wherever it’s parked. You know, some kind of identification that can show that you are in that particular lot in that particular place. Those are always great things to do, just kind of on a regular basis.”

The BBB offers these suggestions for avoiding QR scams.