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CB Automotive and Vehicles Review of E-Z Way Parking - Elizabeth, NJ
E-Z Way Parking - Elizabeth, NJ

E-Z Way Parking - Elizabeth, NJ review: Poor service! 12

Author of the review
12:00 am EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

E-Z Way Parking
901 Spring St
Elizabeth, NJ 07201
[protected]

Below is the timeline for a nasty experience with EZ Way Parking, who also run Vista Parking at Newark Airport in Elizabeth , NJ .

August 23rd, 2007.

At around 9:00am on I dropped my vehicle off at EZ-Way parking in Elizabeth, New Jersey before heading to the airport. I had used EZ-Way parking services in the past without any incidents.

August 27th, 2007.

At midnight I returned to the lot to find my vehicle in a damaged state. The front bumper was badly scraped, the license plate and mounting bracket were ripped off, and the right side molding of the car was scraped. I was immediately angered and questioned the attendant, Lisa, about my vehicle. Lisa was unable to neither explain the damage nor take responsibility. She gave me the number of a claims person to call, Christie Brisco [protected] jmavista AT aol.com), who would handle this matter. Adding insult to injury, EZ-Way parking refused to return my key to the vehicle without paying for their services. Before leaving the lot, I had two attendants verify the damage and I took photographs documenting it. I also had called the Elizabeth police department to have an officer file a report, but the police station said they would be unable to visit the facility.

August 28th, 2007.

The first thing the next morning, I called Christie and left a message on her voicemail. After getting in contact, she informed me that incidents do occur and that they would schedule a repair at their auto body shop, Tecnaut. Her exact language was:

"We have been doing business with them for 15+ years, we send all our repairs to them & the work is guaranteed 100%. The car will be returned to you fully repaired in the condition you brought it to EZ Way"

We then tried to setup a date when the repairs could be done. All my trips out of Newark Airport are on weekends only, and never more than 3 days. To my dismay, Tecnaut auto body does not work on weekends, and EZ-Way parking does not have a backup auto-body shop to perform the repairs. The next most logical action would be to schedule a repair at a repair shop that did work during the weekend I was gone. EZ-Way then informed me that they would only reimburse 50% of the estimate since they found other body shops to be crooks. I later found this statement incredibly ironic.

This obviously would not work for me, according to EZ-Way operating procedure, they would fix my vehicle, but only on their terms. Which meant, during the week, and at their auto body shop only. Leaving myself, a once loyal customer, to either foot half the repair bill at a repair shop I trusted or pay for a rental car without reimbursement while using their repair shop. Neither of these options were fair considering that EZ-Way was the negligent party. Adding a financial burden in additional personal inconvenience was not acceptable. I informed Christie that this was not sufficient, and she responded with that's all that she could do. On Friday August 31st, she gave me the name of someone who could approve actions outside of EZ Way unfriendly operating procedure. She gave me the number and email of Tom Wilson [protected] and T1000W AT aol.com). I immediately left voicemails and emails for Mr. Wilson. For two weeks of numerous attempts, he never returned a call.

September 11th, 2007.

I alerted Christie of Mr. Wilson's failure to be responsive and she informed me that she doesn't work with him and can't get a hold on him either despite him being her supervisor. This was the first on many organizational mishandlings by EZ Way. It wasn't until September 13th, 2007 that I received a call from Tom Wilson. Ironically, one day before my scheduled weekend trip. Mr. Wilson was unapologetic and insisted that he was doing me a huge favor and that I would have to get a very cheap rental car. I complied, even though, I should have been able to rent the same size vehicle as the one I had. I even went extra lengths to reserve a low price via Hotwire instead of paying full retail rental rates. I also declined extra insurance on the vehicle to help keep the cost low.

September 14th, 2007.

I dropped off my car at EZ Way parking in the morning. I spoke with the manager there and left a detailed document thoroughly explaining what needed to be repaired. I even attached an email correspondence from Christie and an estimate from another auto-body shop in case they needed information on parts or paint color. I did not want to be accused of not specifically detailing what needed to be fixed beforehand or making things up after the repairs were done. I asked that they call me with any questions or complications.

September 18th, 2007.

I received a phone call from Christie stating that the repairs had been completed. I informed her that I would pick up the car after work that evening. Later that day I dropped off my rental car and headed over to EZ Way . Upon entering the lot, I saw the vehicle and immediately could tell it had not been fixed. The license plate was still in a crumpled state on the inside of the car, the license plate mount had not been attached to the vehicle, nor could it be since the holes drilled into the bumper were stripped, and the side molding had not been touched. Clearly upset, I spoke with the on-site manager, who of course, could not do anything for me. I drove the car off the lot and immediately called Tom and Christie. Tom never returned my call, and I was able to reach Christie the next day.

September 21st, 2007.

I received a phone call from Christie in the morning. She had spoken with the owner and told me that the full repair was authorized and a rental vehicle would be reimbursed. I called the owner of the auto-body shop and setup a time for me to drop off the vehicle. I would have preferred to drop off the vehicle on Sunday, but the auto-body shop is not open and would not accept.

Around 2pm, I dropped off my car at Technaut and spoke directly with the auto-body shop manager. I explained to him explicitly what needed to be repaired, and gave him the exact copy I gave EZ-Way one week earlier regarding the damage, repairs, and estimate from another auto-body shop. I then head over to Enterprise to pick up a rental car. Within 10 minutes of arriving at Enterprise I received a threatening call from someone at EZ Way parking. I couldn't make out the name, but I suspect it was Pat. This person suspected I went around everyone and directly went to the repair shop without consent. I told this person that I spoke with Christie and he needed to speak with her to clear up the issue. I then emailed Christie to inform her of this conversation and to sort out the mess. She wrote back later that weekend and said she left a message with someone, I assumed the miscommunication on their part was resolved. I should have learned by now, that this company is completely dysfunctional and this would be mishandled.

September 26th, 2007.

1 month+ after EZ-Way parking damaged my car, I called the Tecnaut auto body to get an update on the vehicle. David told me that no parts have been ordered and no progress has been made since the last information he received was that this repair was not scheduled. You can imagine my displeasure with this information. Once again, EZ Way parking's organizational dysfunction managed to screw up even a simple task, and when informed about the mix up, failed to correct it.

I later received this email:

Mr. K***,

I just spoke with Mr. Wilson & I was misinformed with the information that I gave you, it was Mr. Wilson who you spoke with the other day who is my supervisor & who I answer to. After authorizing me to have you call David at Technaut & fix the damage again, David called Mr. Wilson once you brought the vehicle in to him questioning why you were dissatisfied with the repair. Mr. Wilson feels that the job done by Technaut was more than adequate & that we made every effort to repair the damage done to your vehicle & that the car does not need its bumper replaced. We have dealt with Technaut for 20 years & feel they repair relative to industry standards & have never had any complaints after a vehicle sent to them was repaired. Unfortunately, there is nothing further I can do for you at this point, Mr. Wilson will not pay to have the bumper replaced unnecessarily.

Cristie

September 28th, 2007

I picked up my vehicle from Technaut for the second time. The license plate was mounted, but in a jerry-rigged fashion, the front bumper was not replaced. The side molding was also not replaced. David did his best to work under the parameters of what Tom, the owner, had given him. Those directives were, "Do Not Order Parts" for this repair. So my vehicle was returned to me in a state that was worse than I dropped it off. The front bumper still has shredded holes where a license plate mount should go, and the side molding is very blurred, a mild upgrade from its scratched state.

I am neither a complainer nor someone who looks for faults. I have never filed a formal complaint against someone or any organization. This incident stands out as the only time I truly felt a company mishandled my property, exhibiting negligence in there business practices, and treating their customer with contempt and without respect. In my professional line of work, I perform consulting services for many people and organizations. I know the value of customers and the basic treatment they deserve. If I treated my customers the same way EZ Way treated me, I would not have a job. I feel obligated to document my experience and make available to other who want know beforehand what they are getting into.

Information regarding the entities described here:

EZ Way Parking
901 Spring St, Elizabeth , NJ
Phone: [protected]
Tom Wilson
EZ Way Owner
Phone: [protected]
Email: T1000W AT aol.com
Christie Brisco
EZ Way Claims personnel
Phone: [protected]
Email: jmavista AT aol.com
David
Tecnaut Autobody
903 E Grand St , Elizabeth , NJ
Phone: [protected]

Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

12 comments
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linefeeder
Hamilton Square, US
Sep 24, 2012 4:11 pm EDT

STAY AWAY FROM THIS EZ WAY PARKING LOT! It's all a scam; similar to what Ryan Air has been up to in that if you don't have anything on a piece of paper, before you park, OR ESPECIALLY after you arrive, they will not honor your discount. Imagine…they have no record of your transaction, even if you placed a prepayment and will be required to pay the full amount, which in my case was doubled! My paper copy (email) had been dissolved in a rain overseas, but I did have 2nd folded copy in one of my suitcases somewhere. After rude staff tried to tell me they had no software for transaction storage, (even Mickey D’s has a copy of your order to check in case you didn't get fries), no web service to check my email, no fax machine, and no management to call and complain to, I relented and opened suitcases in a drizzle at night under a small parking light. What degrading treatment of your customers! BUT IF YOU HAVE BEEN ALREADY SCAMMED, don’t worry. Keep your email copy and challenge the charge when your statement credit card bill arrives. Your card company will not pay EZ WAY but send you a claim form. Fill out the form and send a copy of your EZ Way Parking contract and you will get the proper charge, or with luck, not have to pay at all, which hopefully will help drive a shady operation like this out of business. Along with accounts of debts, thefts, and joy riding in your car, pay more and be safe elsewhere at another lot. But it couldn't hurt to ask how they handle their transactions first. FLUSH OUT ALL PREDATORS!

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WORLD TRAVLER
West Orange, US
Jan 12, 2011 7:49 pm EST

BUSY BUSY PLACE I GUESS THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOME UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS WE USE THEM ALL THE TIME

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Worst PArking Lot EVER: VISTA PARKING,NJ
New York, US
Aug 09, 2010 2:13 pm EDT

This place is the WORST. Park here at your own risk

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Raju107
Kearny, US
Jul 07, 2010 1:43 pm EDT

DO NOT park your car at this place...they overcharged me from my confirmation from this website and on top of that it took them 30 min to pick me up and another 20 minutes to GET my car once I got there. The manager was as unprofessional as they get and gave me an attitude, knowing fully what my experience had been. This was my 2nd time parking there and both times were awful. The only difference between the 1st time was that my car was actually there the first time when I arrived, but they took 20 minutes to pick me up.

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cmp16
, US
Apr 26, 2010 2:05 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

What a nightmare this place is! they are completely disorganized, unprepared and the attendants have a terrible attitude. If they do ever answer the phone the lady on the other side has probably never been pleasant in her entire life. In her defense I would say the process and system they have has set her up for failure.

Quick Highlights on why not to use this place:

1- We waited well over an hour to be picked up from the airport and were repeatedly hung up on if the lady answered the phone at all when asking for an ETA.
2- They mixed up the keys causing all sorts of chaos.
3- Someone smoked and blew ashes all over our car.
4- They were unprepared for a group to come in making the awful experience drag out much longer then necessary.
5- Their credit card machines weren't working, forcing people to have to scramble to go find cash if they didn't have any on them.
6- Did I mention the poor and unreliable service and terrible attitudes? I can assure you I will never use this place again and I highly recommend you avoid this place.

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Unhappy customer in NJ
, US
Mar 16, 2010 2:36 pm EDT

March 2010 -- We just returned from a 9 day vacation and when the EZWay attendant handed us the keys to our car he said "oh, yeah, the bumper is in the trunk"... WHATTTT? Yes, that's the way we were told that our car was missing its front bumper -- yes, the entire bumper AND the front grill. Thousands of dollars in damage. It's an SUV so it had to have taken a pretty substantial hit for all that damage to occur. Of course, no one knew anything about the damage... about the only thing they did know was that the bumper was in the trunk.
Needless to say, the very next day (a Monday) I called 'Andy' - the manager (nice guy) who informed me that the owner of the company would review the estimate that I sent and get - back to me on the following Thursday. THURSDAY? I'd already told Andy that my car was not drivable in its current condition and told him the rental would be charged to him. He said 'that's ok, the owner will get back to you'... I'm not falling for that 'it's ok stuff'.
I called Andy that next day and told him that I didn't trust that the owner would make good on the claim, much less the rental - and added that I was going to call my insurance company and submit the bills and the police report to same in and let the insurance companies sort it out IF I did not hear from the owner by Close of Business that day. I also told him that I am the one who has been monumentally inconvenienced and feel that I should not have to wait 4 days for a return call from the owner to let me know if he's going to pay out of pocket for the expenses. By the way ---- I believe that I'm doing HIM a favor by allowing him to make this choice - pay out of pocket rather than have his insurance company pay. Can you believe the gall of this guy? Four days. Unbelievable.
So, here it is -- 4:30 -- the business day is almost over and I haven't heard from him yet. I expect I won't. Tomorrow morning - bright and early I'll send the claim, police report, and the EZ paperwork to my insurance company - and probably a copy to my atty as well, just to keep him informed.
Gee, do you think they'll refund our $80 parking fee? Can you believe they had the nerve to charge us for that stay?! Again, talk about the gall. They truly just don't care --- OH, and through all of this do you think anyone said "gee, we're sorry this happened?" If your answer was 'no' - you'd be right.
So, to all you happy customers out there -- it's only a matter of time.

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just booked parking reservatio
,
Jan 07, 2008 9:44 am EST

Me again (18 days ago) left my car with E-Z-Way by Sheraton and after 5 days picked up my car with zero problems. Service was nice, fast and easy! Big plus for them, I am now a really satisfied customer.

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just booked parking reservatio
,
Dec 19, 2007 11:21 am EST

Recently I booked a parking with E-Z-Way. I will be leaving my car over there this Saturday. To be honest I'm a little scared after reading your comments. will let you know after I pick up my car from them. Good luck to all that weren't lucky with EZWay...

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My car was Wrecked at EZ Way P
,
Dec 02, 2007 6:16 pm EST

I just had the most unbelievable experience at EZ Way Parking and I warn anyone against parking a car there.

I left my car there on Friday morning November 23rd. When I returned on Thursday, November 29th at 4 pm, I paid the $60 for parking my car. I then asked where my car was, and the answer was " there was a problem." I asked "what do you mean there was a problem?" to which the answer was "there was some damage to your car." So I ask "what kind of damage?" to which the reply was " here's the owner's cell phone number, you need to call him."

I was furious! I could not believe she took my $60 and she didn't have my car! I called the cell phone number she gave me and got voice mail. I left a message asking to be called back immediately. I went back in the trailer and and demanded some answers at which time she told me the manager had just pulled into the lot.

I met the manager, Pat, outside the trailer. He informed me that an employee driving the car had hit a curb and damaged a tire rim. He said the owner, Tommy, had taken it to a body shop to have it repaired, but he didn't know where and the owner was away until the following day. So no car, no idea where the car is and they took my $60. If I didn't have witnesses I would not believe it myself! He offered to rent me a car, but another customer gave me a ride home, after Pat refunded my $60.

Upon the advice of family members, I notified my insurance company and the Elizabeth Police Dept. I went to pick up my car, it was not there and I did not know where it was. That makes it a stolen vehicle.

The following morning I drove back to Elizabeth and formalized my complaint. Two police officers escorted me to the facility. They asked where the car was and they were informed it was in a body shop on Rts 1 and 9. The cops escorted me there, where I found my Audi A4 Convertible. It was up on the lift and unrecognizable. No grill, no bumper, no tires, and damage to the hood. Certainly it hit more than a curb. The owner of the shop admitted that the employee jumped the curb and only after repeated questioning, told me he hit a wall with my car.

The body shop owner had already ordered all the parts and was repairing my car...upon the authorization of Tommy, the owner of the parking facility. No one apparently thought I needed to authorize anything. He told me he ordered $4,000 worth of parts! I was in shock. I am still in shock.

The owner has YET to return my call. Repeated calls to his cell phone are met with "Voicemail is full." There is nothing even REMOTELY okay with this. I have not yet decided my course of action. But you can surely decide yours. My experience shows you risk alot.

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1111111111
West Orange, US
Nov 20, 2007 5:24 pm EST

I park at EZ Way all the time I dont know they sure park alot of cars. I think they are great lets here from the other 10000 customers I am not leaving my car anywhere else!

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rebecca
,
Oct 31, 2007 11:53 am EDT

I had a bad experience with EZ Way parking, as well. When we came to pick up our car after parking it in the lot for 2 weeks, we realized that our car door handle was cracked off. My husband questioned the parking attendant, and he admitted that when we went to park the car, he tried opening the door, and then handle just cracked off. We have a fairly new car, and it's impossible for the handle to crack off without someone using a lot of force to open the door. They told us to contact Christie Brisco, and we got hold of her a few days later. we explained what had happened. first she said that they won't fix it, since the car is more that 5 years old (even though it's in perfect condition, without a scratch). We we explained to her that it was obviously the fault of the parking attendants, she said that we should send her an estimate of what it would be to replace the door handle, and she'll see what she can do. We got the door handle fixed that week, since it's very dangerous to drive around not being able to open the driver's door from the outside. I faxed Christy the receipts of our expenses, and asked her to call us to discuss it. This was 3 weeks ago. I faxed it to her again, figuring maybe she never received it. I also called her numerous times to confirm that she received the fax. It has been two weeks, and i still have not heard from her. I think this is extremely irresponsible, since she even says on her voicemail that she will call you back within 48 hours. If i don't hear from her within a few days, i will be taking this matter to small claims court to get reimbursed for the expenses we incurred.

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Navin Johnson
,
Oct 19, 2007 7:49 am EDT

Yes, I would avoid EZ Way and Vista parking at all costs.