Car booted and damaged in Buckhead, owner calls for change - CBS Atlanta 46

Car booted and damaged in Buckhead, owner calls for change

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An Atlanta man said he paid to park, but his car still got the boot and now it's damaged.

Sai Reddy is driving a loaner car after his car had to be towed to the dealership. Reddy said it's a result of his car being booted overnight on Monday. It's a boot that he said never should have been there.

"I paid the box, I put $5 in there. He says I didn't pay," Reddy said.

Pictures show how Reddy's car ended up after he paid to get the boot off. He said Advanced Booting Services couldn't get it off initially so they had to jack up his car and take off the wheel, causing damage.

"The rim here is messed up, he jacked up my car so it bent the bottom frame of my car, the bumper here, there's scratches. When I asked him about the damage, he said, 'read the orange sticker, I'm not responsible for any damage to your personal property,'" Reddy said.

Advanced Booting Services boots anyone who doesn't pay to park.

"He did not pay. There's an honor box, a pay station, and our crew audits the pay station," said Jeff Phillips with Advanced Booting Services.

An orange sticker goes on each car with a boot. It says not to move the car.

Phillips told CBS Atlanta there's only one way to cause damage from putting a boot on.

"You've got to get in the car, start it, get it into gear, start it and go. There's no way you can put a boot on a car, wedge it onto a wheel well and break a caliber or bend a caliber or suspension part on a vehicle. It's just not possible," Phillips said.

Reddy said that's not what happened, that he didn't get behind the wheel. He's not letting this end here.

"I think it's time for Fulton County to take a stand because lot of people are getting bullied by these people and there's no recourse," Reddy said.

Reddy is talking with city council members to try to end booting in the city and county and is considering taking legal action to get the damages paid for.

The booting company said Reddy owes them a few hundred bucks for breaking their boot.

Police aren't getting involved because this is a civil matter.

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