On October 25th the company that is responsible for running DC's parking meter pay by phone service, Parkmobile, sent out an email informing its customers that it would be offering a new service designed to skirt new credit card fee hikes imposed by Dodd/Frank. However, today, the company sent another email to its users recanting basically everything it had said in its October 25th email.
Here is the text of the October 25th email:
Dear Valued Member,Beginning October 29th, transaction fees in DC will increase from $0.32 to $0.45 due to increased costs triggered by recent federal legislative reform enacted by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’s Durbin Amendment.
To help offset this increase Parkmobile has developed the Parkmobile Wallet which will provide a more cost-effective parking experience in DC – Wallet transactions will carry a $.30 transaction fee. You can update your payment method to the Parkmobile Wallet via your Personal Pages at www.parkmobile.com or from your mobile app (if using iPhone or Android). If you have forgotten your username/password you can retrieve it using your registered mobile phone number and the last four digits of the credit card on file. The Parkmobile Wallet is FDIC insured.
For more information please visit our website at www.parkmobile.com and click on the Parkmobile Wallet link. If you have further questions click on the orange ‘Help’ tab or email helpdesk@parkmobileglobal.com.
Sincerely,
Tina Dyer
Marketing & Sales Support Manager
Parkmobile USA, Inc.
Here is the text of today's email:
Dear Valued Member,
Last week in a press release and email announcement introducing the Parkmobile Wallet, a simpler, lower cost way to pay for parking in the District of Columbia, the company made an overly simplistic statement about the underlying cause of increasing card transaction fees. In an attempt to explain why costs have increased the company left the potentially confusing impression that Federal legislation is to blame. The company apologizes for any confusion caused by this statement.
Sincerely,
Laurens Eckelboom
Executive Vice- President Marketing & Channels
Parkmobile USA, Inc.
That's an odd reversal, no? Companies don't usually completely contradict themselves in front of a large portion of their user base for no reason. So what is happening here? Were they contacted by somebody and asked or told to change it?
When I called Parkmobile the woman on the other end of the line said they had no comment on their emails and the email I sent to their press contact has gone unanswered thus far.