… costs WHAT???
I use the multi-story car park attached to our local shopping mall when I go into town. You know the sort of thing: you take a ticket when you go in, park your car and go shopping. When you want to go home, you put your ticket into a machine which reads the barcode and tells you how much to pay, you feed money into the thing, and then you drive down and stick the paid-for ticket in the slot by the barrier, and up it goes, and you get out.
So, I’m in town and I’ve done my shopping and got my hair done and now I’m on my way to another appointment and I stuff my ticket in the little slot and wait. And wait. The machine is thinking about it. Hmm. It doesn’t usually do that.
Finally, up on the screen pops the price. £1,835.10.
One thousand, eight hundred and thirty-five pounds! And ten pence!!
I look at the two pound coins I have ready in my hand and back at the screen and think ‘No fucking WAY!’ and the man behind snickers and says ‘you got enough change for that?’
Anyway, I think maybe the machine has gone crazy and I walk around the corner to another one. There is a man in a uniform. He holds out his hand imperiously and says ‘Could I see your ticket, please?’
*Random guilt assaults me*
So he looks at my ticket, rather critically, I imagine, then purses his lips and hands it back to me. I’m sure the handcuffs are coming out, but instead, he tells me ‘Drive down to the exit. The barrier should be up, but if not, press the red button and tell them you have one of these tickets.’
He points to my ticket and I look properly at it for the first time and I see what it says.
It’s dated 1st January, 2008.
Well, now we know. Contrary to popular opinion - and the board up at the entrance - there IS no maximum parking fee!
Be afraid …
Boy, I know you guys get taxed to death over there, but sheesh!
I can only imagine the sigh of relief when you realized what it really was………..
Mr. Nighttimes last blog post..Elixir of life.
Unreal! You must have had a mild heart attack over that one!
Peace - D
DP/Mommas last blog post..The Trouble with Cherries
Mr N and DP Momma - Yes, it was a relief when I realised I didn’t have to go out and buy a whole new car!
I’m still kicking myself for not getting a picture, though! In my defence, I was on my way to the chiropractor, and I really, really didn’t want to miss that appointment.
That’s hysterical. Glad they didn’t make you come up with the dough before they’d let you go home, Jay. LOL! But at least your hair looked nice …
Jennys last blog post..Chicksmiths, LLC
I once drove into a carpark, to see how much it cost, since it didn’t have prices outside. It was too expensive, so I tried to drive staight out again, without parking. They wouldn’t let me - apparently I had to pay. Obviously, I refused, since I hadn’t actually parked. Stalemate. Lots of honking horns behind. Eventually, they caved and let me out. Not as exciting as a £1,835.10 ticket, but it kept me amused for a while.
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Jenny - Yes, my hair looks great, I’d have been a pretty jailbird. LOL!
DMB - That’s funny too! We have a relatively recent law here that says carpark prices must be displayed by the entrance, but it would still be very difficult to reverse out from some without going past the ticket slot.
Great story Jay! One way to ensure more of us leave our cars at home I suppose???
Janes last blog post..Andy Murray
what?? I only have one suggestion for you young lady: On Yar Bike!
DeaFulgoras last blog post..World’s shortest fairytale
i don’t know how much that is in USD, but i don’t like that comma in there. i’m going to do the conversion now. good thing you didn’t have to pay it. i would bust through the gate and floored it, get caught, have to post bail for twice as much as the ticket.
Naturals last blog post..5 Random and Quirky Things No One Knows About Me
BRITISH POUND 1,835.10
TO USD $3,619.5481
HUH, WHAT!!! O–>–< (PASSED OUT)
Naturals last blog post..5 Random and Quirky Things No One Knows About Me
In short: Bloody hell!
Jane and DeaFulgora - I don’t have a bike .. but maybe that’s the idea, huh? You get so scared of the parking fees that you find an alternative!
Natural - Yep, sadly if I busted through that gate I’d have been caught very quickly, in the middle of a traffic accident. The exit lane feeds into a one way street, and you have to wiggle to get across it to get more than fifty yards! My poor little car isn’t up to those kind of rally tricks! LOL! And yep, that’s quite some parking fee, isn’t it?
Trousers - LOL! More or less what I said. Only I think I’m ruder than you!
That is to funny! I probably would’ve passed out too. At least you had someone there to rescue you!
JTs last blog post..Ants in the Pants
Ha-ha! I can’t believe that can happen but as you say, now warned. I can imagine standing there and thinking just wait till I get home to blog about this
LOL
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JT - and thank heavens for that or I’d have missed my appointment tracking someone down!
Doris - Yep, interesting how it’s one of the first thoughts in your head, isn’t it? But I so wish I’d had time to get a picture!
I heard parking over there was outrageous - but that really takes the cake! Did you keep the ticket to show around or perhaps give it a try again?
Saw a comment of yours over on Belle’s and wondered what you meant about taking your drugs with you when you travel. As I remember those days well - I’ve come for a look. Then tripped on this post and cracked up!
That must have been so horrible, I’ve have been a nervous wreck. But I also think its horrible that they charge you to park in the first place. They make you pay, to go and pay money to buy other things? Thankfully its not like that in Oz.. not yet anyway.
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Aussie - It’s almost impossible to find a free car park for shopping in towns and cities here, even the hospitals are charging for car parking, which I do think is shameful. Space is at a premium, though, so they have you over a barrel, sadly.
Aims - Hi there - welcome aboard!
I kept the ticket, but sadly it doesn’t have the price printed on it. When I get back from holiday I might take it back to the mall and pop it into the machine again just to take a picture. The price will have gone up a bit by then, too! It’ll be hysterical! LOL!
Drugs = prescription drugs for asthma, thyroid, high BP etc. I panic about losing my suitcase with them all in!