ABM, FlashParking, Parkpliant Hit with Class Action Over Alleged Parking Fee ‘Scheme’

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A proposed class action alleges ABM Industries and two other companies have illegally harvested drivers’ contact information and used it to surprise them with “extortionate” parking fees via text message or mail.

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The 21-page lawsuit says that when an individual drives out of a parking lot operated by ABM without paying, the company captures their license plate number using license plate recognition technology provided by defendant FlashParking. The companies then hand the plate number over to defendant Parkpliant, which pulls private information about the driver—including their name, address and phone number—from their state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records, the case claims.

The suit explains that ABM uses this information to send drivers “harassing” text messages and letters in which they’re charged “surprise bills” that double, triple and even quadruple in price within weeks of the initial demand.

According to the complaint, the defendants are prohibited under the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) from intentionally obtaining and using consumers’ personal motor vehicle records without their knowledge or consent. Although the law allows for the limited disclosure of personal information for 14 permissible purposes, none of these exceptions apply to the defendants’ debt collection campaign, the filing contends.

The lawsuit was filed by two Illinois residents who say they fell victim to the defendants’ “scheme” after parking in the ABM-owned lot next to the Regal City North movie theatre in Chicago.

“At the entrance there is a small sign informing drivers that they need to use a mobile phone app or a kiosk in the movie theatre to pay for parking but it would be easy for drivers to miss this sign—especially because—prior to February 1, 2023—parking at this lot was free,” the complaint says. To add to the confusion, the parking lot is left open without a gate, the suit notes.

The plaintiffs claim that when they visited the movie theater in June 2023, they saw no warning sign indicating that drivers would need to pay a parking fee and parked without paying, “just as [they] had for the past several years.” 

One plaintiff shares that she soon received a text message from “Abm Parking – Regal Cinemas Chicago” with a link to a webpage claiming that she owed $80 for parking. The page also included the date and time she visited the Regal City North movie theatre, her license plate number and a link to pictures of her vehicle and plate number, the case says.

As the filing tells it, the woman was later mailed two follow-up letters, the first of which doubled her fine to $160, and the second increased it to $240. The mailers also threatened to take further action if she failed to pay the fee, causing the plaintiff “great anxiety and distress,” the suit contends.

“Defendants’ misconduct has harmed Plaintiffs and Class Members, including by invading their privacy in sending harassing texts and letters, violating their rights under the DPPA to conduct a harassing debt collection campaign, and harmed them emotionally by misusing their protected information—including their names, addresses, and telephone numbers—to threaten them with collection actions,” the complaint claims.

The case notes that although ABM, FlashParking and Parkpliant allegedly obtain personal information from state-run DMVs, the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office has “adamantly denied” selling data to a parking company, CBSNews reports.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who had their personal motor vehicle records maintained by a state DMV directly obtained, used, redisclosed and/or resold by ABM, FlashParking or ParkPliant for purposes not permitted by the DPPA.

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