Here’s why people are being charged for parking tickets they’ve already paid

ATLANTA — Emails between city leaders show there's concern about Atlanta’s parking contractor ATL Plus.

People are being charged for tickets they’ve already paid, and Channel 2 Action News has learned it traces back to problems with the city’s computer system.

The emails first obtained by our partners at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution show that even if you have proof you paid a ticket ATL Plus might come after you for nonpayment, anyway.

The emails show some city officials are as equally frustrated as drivers by the company contracted to provide parking enforcement for the city.

Municipal Judge Gary Jackson fired off the following email to ATL Plus, saying:

“I am getting dozens of complaints every week. ATL Plus continues collection efforts knowing the cases have been dismissed.”

There are cases like the one involving Alisa Aczel. She wanted to challenge a parking ticket in court but decided to just pay it.

“I was very frustrated about it. I thought it was wrong. Went on with my life,” Aczel said.

Aczel has the receipt for the payment. But months later, she was turned over to collections by ATL Plus for the ticket anyway.

“If something is reported to collections, it’s a nightmare to unwind that,” she said.

The emails show that since at least the fall of 2018, the city has been aware that city computers and ATL Plus computers aren’t talking to one another.

Jackson wrote this email back in June of 2019:

“Is there any time frame for the court to finally integrate its computers with ATL Plus. Will this ever be done?”

And just last month, Jackson wrote:

“This issue apparently will never be resolved.”

Atlanta City Councilman Antonio Brown said he, himself, had to dispute a booting by ATL Plus and said the council will look into the complaints.

“Their job is giving citations. No one enjoys receiving a citation from ATL Plus. Understand we are going to make sure nobody is mistreated, nobody is being taken advantage of,” Brown said.

ATL Plus and their parent company would not comment about the complaints and referred Channel 2 Action News to the city of Atlanta.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Justin Gray first contacted the mayor’s office Thursday morning and checked back in two other times by Thursday evening.

However, the city did not respond to his questions about ATL Plus as of Thursday night.

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