Woman accumulates nearly $8,000 in fees after merely parking her vehicle for 45 minutes at a Southern California hospital.
Woman Overcharged $8,000 for 45-Minute Hospital Parking Stay Receives Refund
Cate Daniels, a Southern California resident, was recently overcharged nearly $8,000 for a 45-minute parking stay at Glendale Memorial Hospital. The error occurred due to a computer glitch that mistakenly showed her vehicle as having been parked since July 3, 2022, resulting in an erroneous long-term parking fee.
Last week, Cate Daniels parked her car at the hospital and encountered trouble with a parking machine in the lot. Despite initially thinking it was a mistake, her credit card was charged the four-figure parking fee. When she tried to resolve the issue, a hospital employee told her she had been parked for three weeks and refused to provide contact information.
Cate Daniels was upset because she was in a state of crisis with health issues and had recently lost her husband to cancer. Drivers behind her honked in impatience as she struggled to rectify the situation.
The hospital and the Parking Company of America, which operates the parking garage, later acknowledged the error and apologised. They began processing a refund, and on Thursday, Cate Daniels received a refund check.
The hospital issued a statement regarding the incident, expressing their regret for any inconvenience caused to Cate Daniels and assuring that they are working to prevent such incidents in the future. They also mentioned that the machine causing issues in the parking lot is expected to be replaced.
Despite the resolution, the incident has upset Cate Daniels greatly due to her recent health issues and past loss. She had initially sought a name of someone to speak with about the parking charge issue but was refused.
Glendale Memorial Hospital contracts with Parking Company of America for parking services. The parking company acknowledged a billing error that resulted in the overcharge for Cate Daniels and indicated they were in the process of refunding the charge.
This incident serves as a reminder for hospitals and parking companies to ensure their systems are accurate and efficient to avoid such mistakes in the future.
The incident involving Cate Daniels highlights the importance of accurate and efficient systems in the realms of both health-and-wellness (hospital services) and general-news (mistakes made by hospitals and parking companies), as an error caused her to be overcharged $8,000 for a 45-minute hospital parking stay, leading to financial stress. Furthermore, the lack of clear communication from hospital employees during this distressing time added to her problems, as she was not provided with appropriate contact information to address her concerns.
