'Fake' Parking Attendants Targeting Popular Dallas Neighborhoods
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Holiday crowds can make a good parking spot hard to find, but beware!
Dallas businesses are warning customers about "fake" parking attendants, charging drivers to park in spots where they can be towed or where they're entitled to park for free.
Raven, who asked we not share her last name, recorded video of her confrontation with a parking attendant outside Studio Movie Grill in West Dallas Sunday.
"I was so mad. I was furious," she said. "'Cause I knew it's not legit. There's no way you can charge people money to park in a movie parking lot for $20 to see a move that's going to cost you $10."
Attendants claimed they were working for Gas Monkey Live, the bar next door that was hosting a concert.
Video, however, shows a Studio Movie Grill manager ordering the attendants to leave.
An employee confirmed the attendants had been charging people to park in the theater's complimentary parking spots.
CBS 11 spotted the same parking attendant, seen in the cell phone video, charging drivers to park in Deep Ellum two weeks earlier.
He directed a CBS 11 employee to park in a spot marked where signs reading "Spirits Parking Only" warned drivers could be towed.
"We have a lease. We lease all of this," he said.
CBS 11 contacted John Reardon, the owner of the Deep Ellum Brewing Company, which purchased the "Spirits" lot months ago.
He confirmed no one had permission to charge for parking on his land.
J. Damany Daniel, the owner of Life in Deep Ellum, said he also caught the parking attendants charging drivers to park on his property without his permission.
He advises drivers to look for parking attendants who clearly display their name and contact information.
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