ParkMobile: Park. Pay. Go‪.‬ 4+

Good at the basics, two annoying issues

ParkMobile seems to be the most popular app for municipal parking around me, and it works pretty well for what it is. Seems to sync well with whatever technology the authorities are using. A handful of app-specific annoyances in the last year or two: 1) there are more often than not popover ads or popover promos that appear as soon as I open the app that I must dismiss in order to input the parking zone and start parking. I imagine most people are like me and in a major hurry to input the zone number and start the clock. The ads and promos are a HUGE annoyance. I’ve cursed the app more than once standing in the rain after finding the zone number and trying to start parking. 2) I turned off app notifications for time remaining and session expired and now they will not turn back on for me. Every time I hit the radio button in the app, I’m redirected to the iPhone setting menu for the app, which doesn’t help - two different types of settings. All of those iPhone settings are correct, so I don’t know what the problem is turning notifications on in the app. I really don’t like text or email notifications, which are now my only options. 3) I had to log out and log back in to the app to see an updated parking history. The app stopped showing parking history in real time for a couple months.

Developer Response ,

Thank you very much for your feedback! We would like to investigate further, but we need some help from you.
Point #1, could you please provide screenshots or recall from memory what the promotions were? We can deactivate them once we know which ones are giving you trouble.
Point #2, we are aware of current issues with turning notifications on and off, and we're waiting until we have some dev time freed up to get those working at 100% again!
Point #3, please send the following information to feedback@parkmobile.io :
Operating System Version,
Device Model,
ParkMobile Version,
Zone # or Location,
Order # (if applicable),
ParkMobile account email.

Glitching and overcharging

I used the app for the first time during a recent trip in California. Downloaded fine and got my parking session started. The meter on the street had a note that stated it would not register an active parking session (meter light going from red to green), so I went with it. Two and a half hours later, I was leaving the spot and I went into the app to end the session. I had connectivity but the app did NOT show any active sessions. I refreshed a couple of times but no active session showed so I was not able to stop the session- pretty impossible to end a session if it’s not showing on your own platform! Then I thought: maybe I had made a mistake and not started the parking session after all, and was lucky I didn’t get a ticket. However, hours later after I got back to my hotel I received an email that the parking session had 15 minutes remaining. At that point when I when on the app the session was showing and was able to end it. I initiated a refund request once the charges showed up, explained that I would be happy to pay for the time I parked -about three hours- but not the almost eight hours I was being charged. I got a note back stating that while the app has glitches in low connectivity areas. they don’t do refunds because the money is collected by the local parking authority. It wasn’t a connectivity issue- it was an app issue. I will do the old school coin route in the future if possible and will avoid this app.

$160 TOWING FEE

I am extremely disappointed with the service. I had parked my car at a parking lot and made a payment through the app only to return to it missing because it had been towed. Once I frantically got on the phone with someone from parking enforcement, they explained the tag number was “wrong”. Although, I clearly remember inputting it correctly along with the lot number and other information it asks for. I even received a confirmation email shortly after, that a new (current) tag number was added along with a separate email that included the receipt. Apparently, it had defaulted to the other other tag number on my account. When I go to the towing garage, I try to reason and explain the situation to them, but they were extremely rude and insisted that the only way I was getting my car back was if I paid. I also tried reaching out to a customer service representative through the chat feature on the app and the only response I got was an apology for the inconvenience and an invoice (which I already had) to show the towing people as proof. Ultimately, it didn’t help any because the invoice had the incorrect tag number. I have already submitted a service request with proof and hope to hear from them soon, but really unsatisfied with service to say the least.

Update - a specialist responded and again refused to do anything about it except advise me to speak with the parking operator, this is absolutely horrible! Don’t recommend

Developer Response ,

Hi Angela, we're sorry to hear you were penalized. However, we always recommend you double-check your parking information before you start the parking session. You will always have a default vehicle listed on your account and it is chosen as default until you change it. We provide the option for you to change your license plate number while filling out the information for the parking session. Enforcement will only accept the correct information, however, showing your proof of payment to them should assist with adjudication. The parking operator that owns the area would be able to assist you with this inquiry as they were paid for the parking and they employ enforcement. We do recommend you reach out to the owners of the facility for adjudication.