A user on TikTok has sparked discussion after alleging a parking garage placed a boot on her car and a sticker on her window after the garage claimed she violated the rules by parking in a reserved spot. The only problem? She paid for reserved parking—and the company’s boot may not have been legal.
In a video with over 3.5 million views, TikTok user Holly Mac (@hollynne16) says that she returned to her car to find it booted and marked with a sticker. Upon calling the relevant parties, she was informed that, though she paid for daily reserved parking, “reserved” spots were only given to those who paid by the month, something she says she was not aware of.
In response to this, she called the parking authorities about her boot. After a two-hour phone call, they claimed to have no record of having her car booted.
@hollynne16 Worst experience ever #terrible #fyp #foryoupage #foryou #fypシ #ran ♬ original sound – Holly Mac
After she learned this, she attempted to contact the garage’s management using the two phone numbers they provided. Both were incorrect and did not actually lead to garage management.
Out of options, she contacted the police, who informed her that the boot may be fake.
Following about 3 hours of waiting, the police came and attempted to resolve the situation.
@hollynne16 Replying to @Michelle <3 #greenscreen #fyp #forgou #fypシ #foryoupage #crazy ♬ original sound – Holly Mac
The police guided Holly Mac to the manager’s office, which the TikToker describes as “hidden.” There was no one in the office, so the group tried to call management using the phone numbers listed on the office. She did not receive an answer, so she left a voicemail with her information and number.
Holly Mac then took the police to her car.
“They could not believe what they saw,” Holly Mac recalls. “It was like, ‘We have never seen this before. We’ve never seen the color, and we have never seen a boot in a parking garage.’” They also theorized that they could remove the boot by towing the car, as they claimed the boot was incorrectly attached.
At this point, the parking garage manager called Holly Mac, and the sergeant on the scene demanded to speak to the manager.
“[The sergeant] was like, ‘What you did to this girl’s car is illegal,’” the TikToker recounts. “He’s like, ‘You can call 911, and we can give you permission to put a ticket on the car, or tow it’—if it’s like a crazy bad situation—‘but you can never put a boot on a car, because that’s basically stealing the girl’s car.’”
The manager allegedly countered that, as the car was parked on private property, he had the right to boot the car.
Laws around this are a bit complicated. The state of New Jersey, where the TikToker is based, appears to have no laws banning the practice, but many individual municipalities do regulate whether people can put boots on cars on private property.
Once a tow truck driver arrived, Holly Mac was able to have the boot removed and could drive away, though she says she has not received any compensation for her lost time and damage to her car done by the boot and sticker.
In the comments section, many users encouraged the TikToker to pursue legal action against the garage.
“Girl press charges or they’re just going to keep doing it,” suggested a commenter.
“Don’t let it go, I will only inflate his ego and will do it to the next person,” echoed another. “Put him in his place and get compensation.”
“See if your school has legal services for students!! mine does and it’s all free!!!” noted a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Holly Mac via email.
