Douglas Parking

So yeah, don’t park at the Broadway lot (Broadway & 17^th) in Oakland. Got back to my car at about 11:15pm after a show at the Fox last night and lo and behold! It was broken into along with a whole bunch of others, including the ones in plain view a few feet from the Broadway sidewalk.
Of course there was no attendant there, even though there is supposed to be one until midnight. So you charge ten bucks and you don’t provide the advertised service. Excellent. Isn’t that illegal?
So now I have to deal with the inconvenience of getting a new window. Thanks Douglas Parking — parking on your crappy unattended lot cost me $ 110. $ 10 for parking and $ 100 glass excess for a new window.

DO NOT PARK IN THE LOT AT BROADWAY AND 17TH. Your car *will* be broken into, and if you have anything of value, it will be stolen.
We parked there last night (10÷7÷15) for a show at the Fox Theater. There was supposed to be an attendant there for the night. Came back at 11pm, my window was broken (nothing in the car, so nothing stolen), but the windows of at least 5 other cars were smashed as well. Even the car parked closest to Broadway was hit.
The police didn’t come, because there was too much crime reported in that area already or something???
Find somewhere else to park!

$ 15. To park my car and have it broken into with approximately ten other cars. Really, it was a great deal for a smashed window.
Really sad as we got to the car immediately after midnight and the attendant was gone. Along with my window.
Granted, nothing was in the car, so nothing lost. Except my parking money, time and patience while I go get a new window. Thanks Douglas Parking!

A parking monopoly which is fine, except the service is terrible. Parking hours are unreasonably strict and checks are not cashed in a timely manner. I wish I had another choice than paying top dollar.

I was going to a concert at the Fox and since I was coming straight from work and had my workbag with laptop in it, knew I needed to find a secure place to park. The 17^th and Broadway attendant assured me that someone would be on duty until midnight and that the big lights would be on. When I returned to my car at 10:40pm, the lot was dark and there was no attendant anywhere to be seen. Four cars, including mine had been broken into. OPD came pretty quickly and did the police reports, and in the process informed us that this lot gets hit a lot. The folks who had their cars broken into were also surprised to see the lot attendant wasn’t there because they too were under the impression that he would be there until midnight.
I have called Douglas Parking about working together to make things right and am still waiting for a «manager» to call me back. I am really hoping we can amicably work things out — I would certainly change my rating if that happened.
If you HAVE to park in this lot, don’t leave anything in your car, even well hidden under things (like I did) and park as close to the street (Broadway) as possible.

I am going on vacation and need airport parking from ⁴⁄₂₅₁₅ thru 5÷5÷15 I got quoted $ 100 ++ everywhere I looked for airport parking for those days and was praying that since I pay $ 143 per month to park in the promenade parking garage in the same building I work in Berkeley operated by Douglas parking that it could be transferrable to airport parking operated by Douglas parking while I am on vacation give or take a few bucks.
They told me that they can let me pay the $ 69 weekly rate instead of $ 100 at Airpark Oakland but I still need to pay for the entire month of April and May at the Promenade in berkeley.
It just doesn’t make sense for me to pay to park when I am not using the garage. Although I will only need parking for 10 days at the airport I will not be parking at the promenade from April 24– May 11 (17 days).
I feel like I could have been better accommodated. I will no longer require monthly parking from Douglas parking at the promenade.
Their response was we will terminate your monthly parking once you return your permit and thank you for using Douglas parking.

Garbage company. Wish I could give 0 stars. Flagrant, shameless false advertising/​bait-​and-​switch pricing.
I was overcharged at TWO DIFFERENT LOTS within the span of two weeks. Their street-​facing signs in Oakland do not display the current pricing. You’ll park there with a few minutes to get to work, walk to the sign, download the app, input all your information, only to find that the price you’re charged through the app is higher than what’s stated on the sign (not to mention the app has a «convenience fee» — what, exactly, is «convenient» about being charged an extra .35c for an app that’s already been bought and paid for and actually reduces the company’s recurring costs by eliminating the need of paid staff to handle certain transactions? I imagine this is very convenient — for them).
The Director of Operations claims they’re «having issues with their sign vendor.» That’s not my problem. Find a new sign vendor. You shouldn’t have changed your prices BEFORE updating your signs — how about you change the signs first and THEN update your pricing? The Director of Ops refused to refund my parking charges, so I disputed them with my bank instead. They are intentionally misleading people and refusing to update their signs or drop the pricing to match the signs until new signs are in place. They claim they’ve put «temporary» signs on them, but — surprise, surprise — most of these signs have been torn down, leaving behind no trace of an increased price until you’re already parked in their lot, 5 minutes away from being late to work, and stuck playing their deceitful game.
Absolutely predatory business practices, as you will read here in their other Unilocal reviews. There’s a reason they currently have a 1.5 star average review. They have no clue how to run a company or take care of their customers. But why would they? They’ve got a large market share in an industry where nobody really cares who’s running the parking lot, and people will always need a place to park, so they can treat their customers like garbage. For now, at least.
Well, Chris McGougan, Director of Operations, I hope you pay attention to what has happened to the taxi industry in this country, renowned nationwide for treating its customers like dirt, once companies like Über and Lyft appeared. Drastically reduced profits, drastically reduced market share, and many taxi companies gone under entirely, all because people hate companies that treat their customers like dollar signs and not people, and as soon as a better option comes along, they can’t wait to find the door and leave you in the dustbin of history. There’s always going to be a bigger fish that comes along eventually, Chris. I can only hope it comes to swallow up your awful company sooner rather than later.
Tl;dr: Flagrantly illegal false advertising/​bait-​and-​switch pricing. I’ll be taking them to small claims if necessary. Avoid this company’s parking lots like the plague!

1825 Welton Street, Denver, CO
They charged me $ 75 for being 5 minutes late in Denver. For a parking lot that was $ 12/​day. Then sent me a lawyer letter telling me it was in collections without a warning. AVOID!

Beware. My car and at least 15 others all had windows smashed when we returned from the Fox Theater last Wednesday night. There was no attendant on duty when we returned at 11 p.m. (even though he was there when we dropped the car off at 9 p.m.)
Awful surprise.

Douglas Parking (Monthly) — Washington Street
Though the company has some room for improvement, I found the monthly parking service and customer service excellent.
After having my truck broken into multiple times parked on the street, I looked for a secure monthly lot at a reasonable rate. Monthly parking customers get an access card and access to an additionally secured area on the 5^th and 6^th floor. The rate is $ 85, comparable to other local outdoor street-​level lots, and I did not have to deal with unavailability (other lots had waiting lists). It was quick and easy to sign up and use, and I never had any issues with getting in or out at different times of the day/​night.
Terminating Service
Due to life changes, I stopped using the lot and was not able to make it in during office hours to pay my bill and terminate service. After responding to the monthly billing e-​mail with requests to terminate service immediately and to reduce the bill (for entire months I had not used the service), which I did not expect due to my interaction with less accommodating businesses in the past, someone responded to my e-​mail in less than a business day. The e-​mail confirmed termination of service and reduction of the bill (to match usage).
Considerations
This garage has only M-​F 9 – 5 office hours for bill payment and does not accept online/​phone payments. As someone who commutes, I found it difficult to make time to stop in to pay my bill. That being said, Douglas Parking treated me fairly (didn’t restrict access). They understand that it might be difficult for a commuter, and they are willing to make extra effort.

*** AVOID TRINITY LOT IN BERKELEY ***
If I could give a negative rating I would. Douglas Parking practices inconsistent rules for those interested in using the Trinity Lot (aka Trinity United Methodist Church’s parking lot) at 2362 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA. Douglas Parking’s official reason as to why my car got towed on 10÷1÷2014 was because I parked in the spot for the director of the church. I was told by two different Douglas Parking employees that if I had parked in the other 3 spots with white signs (not designated for the «Pastor») I would not have been towed on 10÷1÷2014.
I have used this public parking lot several times when I needed to be at work before the City’s parking garage opened. I have seen others park there and I, myself, have parked in one of the «other» white-​signed spots and not been towed. If I had been informed/​aware of this unlisted rule, I would have parked one spot to the left that morning! What is frustrating is that the lot personnel there encourages parkers to use the «reserved» spots. I verified this with the lot attendant the next day!
SKETCHY!!! DISHONEST!!!
Douglas Parking’s Director of Operations responded to me by basically telling me they can do whatever they want because it was up to their personnel’s discretion to tow or not or allow people to park in reserved spots or not. Hhhmmm — discriminatory treatment, anyone?
Under CVC 22 568, there are laws protecting consumers. The Director of Operations refused to let me speak to his boss because he said I would waste his time. He also refused to give me the name of the person I should send my small claims summons to. In a snarky voice, he told me to look it up.
After some research on a CA State website, I found out that one of the company’s partners, Leland Douglas, is the person to send summons to. So send your letters and summons to Leland Douglas at the Oakland headquarters since the Director of Operations doesn’t know jack about customer service. Heck, don’t just take my words — read the other reviews about dealing with this company and the Director of Operations.
Avoid this drama — use the City’s garage between Durant and Channing, cross-​street Telegraph. You don’t need to be a mind reader to use this public parking garage. There are clearly stated parking rules that are not subject to the whims of employees. Day parking is also $ 1 cheaper than Trinity Lot if you can get in before 9 am and out by 6 pm — it’s the Early Bird rate of $ 9.
AGAIN, watch out for the «Pastor» parking spot closest to driveway at the Trinity Lot in Berkeley! Douglas Parking will tow you for that one spot but (from the mouths of Douglas Parking personnel) they won’t for the other church-​reserved spots.
Avoid the tow fee I paid, $ 270 (or $ 365 if I picked up after hours). FYI — I haven’t use this lot or a lot serviced by Douglas Parking since this incident.

my car got broke in and that’s already said enough.

Beware parking at the Douglas Parking lot (#69) at 1571 Harrison Street. After noticing a steady increase in broken window glass in the parking lot over the last couple of weeks, I returned to my car to discover the registration tag had been stolen off my license plate.
Seriously, low-​lifes?!
I’ve also had a couple of instances where I paid the $ 7 daily parking fee, in cash, in the old-​fashioned pay box slot and returned to my car to find a pricey parking ticket with no real way to contest it. But because there’s no paper receipt or record of your payment, it’s your word against theirs. With the money they extort from their customers, they should upgrade their parking payment system to provide proof of payment receipts.
Seriously, low-​lifes?!
I’ve since switched to the iPhone pay app (so that I have proof of payment), but recently observed a shady looking character who rides his bike from parking lot to parking lot along Harrison Street with a wire hook that he uses to pull money back through the pay box slot that hasn’t been pushed in all the way.
Seriously, low-​life?!
Douglas Parking does not actively respond to emails or phone calls. You get what you pay for. $ 7 for a cheap unattended parking lot, full of broken car glass, dumped garbage and sometimes furniture, empty mini alcohol bottles, syringes, used condoms, human waste and vagrants sleeping or walking around looking for stuff to steal from your car.
ADVICE: find a safer place to park, or if you have to park here, hide everything in your car, and make sure your registration sticker is cut into slices so that it can’t be removed in one piece, and use the iPhone pay app (there’s a $.35 convenience fee, but worth it to have record of your payment).

Crooks. Complete liars. Engaged in deception and misrepresentation. They changed me for event parking at 20^th near Telegraph and told me to leave my car key as I planned to leave before the shows at the Fox and Paramount let out. By the time I got back to the lot at 9:40 no one was there and they had made off with my car and home keys. He did not tell me the lot would close that early. I had no way to get home and no way to get into my apartment builiding and apartment. I had to call a locksmith. Had I known they would close of course I wouldn’t have parked or left my keys. Outrageous. I will not stop calling them until they make this right.

Problems with the lot at Broadway and 23^rd:
1. I pay for a monthly permit, yet have had days where I’m forced to make a space due to the lot being oversold and construction taking up ¹⁄₅ of the available spaces.
2. There are 4 gates, 1 on each block that the lot touches — Broadway, 23^rd, Valley and 24^th. On any given day 3 out of 4 of these gates may be locked with no warning and it is impossible to walk into the lot and get back to your car, so then you are forced to walk around the entire block (where it’s not well-​lit at all and completely unsafe) to find one of the gates that MAY be open.
3. First Friday — this lot opens for 1^st Friday patrons at a $ 15 premium and all the streets around the lot are blocked off, but the only exit they leave open forces you to take a right onto Broadway and sit in massive traffic.
4. This lot is not well lit at all and I have never felt safe. There are shards of broken glass littering the lot from break-​ins. Never leave anything in your car. Visible or not.
Problems with the lot at Valley and 23^rd:
1. My car has been broken into. At least 9 other co-​workers I know have had their cars broken into.
2. I once returned to my car to a man urinating on the side of my car.
3. This lot get blocked in for First Friday and no one notifies you! And you can’t get out without running over useless food trucks and clueless vendors.

I actually give them 0 stars but I couldn’t figure out how to do that. TERRIBLE company. DO NOT give them your money. I pay for a monthly spot and haven’t been able to park in my lot for over a week. Their representative told me I was paying for the «potential to park there». The lots are mostly unattended as well so you are paying between $ 125-​$ 150 for the potential to park in a spot where your car will likely be broken in to.

I’m breaking my Unilocal hiatus for this (also my friend works for Unilocal now so I should support).
Parked here for a show last night (8pm to 10pm). In that small span of time, the attendant either disappeared or broke into 5 cars himself.
Some people will say that’s expected when you roll up to Oakland in a BMW/​Lexus/​Mercedes (my dirty Honda with macbooks in the trunk was untouched in a sea of broken glass) for a «white upper class concert».
But 2 hours in a lot that had an attendant when you left is pretty ridiculous.
So if you’re going to the Fox/​Paramount, and you drive a fancy car, and you leave your purse on the dash, and you come from SF/​Marin/​those other places I can’t afford: use the covered garage next to the Fox/​Ice Rink. Your Welcome.
A funny note: an OPD car actually showed up! When I call about my car, they just laugh and hang up (next time i’ll shout «I’m from SF and our BMWs got robbed!»)

These people truly deserve 0 stars, but that’s not an option. Thus, I’m reluctantly giving them 1!
Like a fool, I allowed a Douglas Parking valet to park my car as I dined at Pican in Oakland. When I left my car and key with them, both were in perfect condition. When they brought my keys to me (because they were closing and we were still dining), they requested my money, dropped the keys on the table and left. He failed to mention that he cracked my key open; I could actually see inside of my key. When I got outside, my car doors were unlocked because they key no longer worked because they broke it.
After I got the run around from Douglas for 72 hours, I was finally able to speak with their Director of Operations. He said he would speak with their claims department and see what he could do. I reminded him that I was unable to lock my car doors so to expedite the process as much as he could. 8 days later, I received an email informing me that Douglas Parking has determined that the broken key is from normal wear and tear, not something their staff did. Okay, so now they were there?
I’d let a homeless person handle my car before I’d let another employee of Douglas Parking touch near it or my keys. Save yourself the time, money and grief of dealing with these less than professional people and park your own car!

(Douglas Parking doesn’t even deserve a 1 star rating, but Unilocal won’t let me rate it a 0.)
This place is HORRIBLE! Rude unprofessional employees who could care less about their customers’ property. Do NOT park at their lots unless you want to return to a dinged/​damaged or burglarized vehicle. Eight, yes eight! vehicles were broken into at the lot on 20^th and Webster in Oakland within a 2 ½ hour timeframe (mine included).
Avoid parking at any Douglas Parking LLC lots and tell your friends and family to do the same.

I had a bad experience with a Douglas Parking person. I was parked at Trader Joe’s on Lake Shore. When I came back there was a note on my car from the lot attendant. The note was written in a very condescending tone and didn’t explain the statement of, «PARK LIKE THIS AGAIN AND YOU WILL END UP IN A TOW LOT!!»
Apparently, you aren’t allowed to back into parking spaces in this lot and doing so could get you towed. I wouldn’t be up set if the note simply read,
«We ask that you don’t back into parking spots, please be advised for the future»
When I told the attendant that I didn’t like the tone he told me, «I Don’t Care»
I think the world would be a better place if we all cared a little more.
My actions effect those around me — the same is true for all of us.
Choose you actions, and your words, wisely.
— Aaron.