Chalk one up for the little guy. That would be me.One day last week, I found myself needing to buy about 90 minutes of time on one of our SmartPark meters downtown. Don't know how common they are around the country by now, but you have to run your credit or debit card through the machine at the rate of $1.60 per hour -- unless you're a small bank and carry a ton of quarters. I don't.
Anyway, the machine took my money but didn't dispense a receipt, which meant I had to cross the street and use another machine, which worked just fine and gave me a receipt to put on my window. A few days later, I'm looking at my checking account online and discover I've been debited twice instead of just once. Well...
I went to the credit union yesterday and pointed out the duplicate charges. The teller, after consulting with a supervisor, said I needed to take up the issue with the city. Sigh.
Anticipating the worst, I went to the Portland Building (above) and rode the elevator to the 8th floor offices of the Bureau of Transportation. I handed over a copy of the bank statement and receipts from that day's parking, then waited patiently while three other people who arrived behind me had their questions answered. Finally, I was called to the counter.
Whaddya know? The city worker who heard me out said, sure, she could refund my money. Did I want to wait up to two weeks to have the debit reversed? Or did I want to walk out the door with a city-issued debit card good for $5 at any parking meter? Of course, I took the card. (The amount in dispute was a whopping $2.79. So call me cheap -- my wife and son certainly did when I told them at dinner -- but it was the principle that mattered!)As I rode the elevator back down to the street, I thought, I'll take this small victory anytime.
Portland Building photo: David Gn Photography
Parking meter photo: Functoruser
No comments:
Post a Comment