ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Concertgoers who prepaid for parking through Ticketmaster found their cars booted at a Buckhead Theater show despite having valid parking receipts.
The incident occurred in late August after a Chris Fleming comedy performance at the Buckhead Theater on Roswell Road. About a dozen people purchased tickets through Ticketmaster and used the app’s prepaid parking option for the closed IHOP parking lot on Peachtree Road.
According to bodycam footage from Atlanta police, Empire Parking Services (EPS) booted approximately a dozen vehicles during the show’s 2:30 p.m. performance, leaving attendees stranded for about an hour and a half.
Mark Mobley said he and other attendees had confirmation receipts from Ticketmaster showing they paid for parking spaces.
“We all had the confirmation from Ticketmaster. In some cases, the confirmation included a picture of the lot,” said Mobley, whose car had boots on two tires.
The payment information failed to reach EPS, according to an employee on police bodycam video. The EPS employee explained Ticketmaster contracts LAZ Parking, a parking management company that manages lots throughout metro Atlanta. The employee said LAZ Parking is supposed to relay payment information to the booting company.
Watch Uncovered by ANF Investigates every Sunday at 7 p.m. on Atlanta News First.
When asked by police, the EPS worker acknowledged that all the attendees had paid for parking, but said it would take time to resolve the issue.
An Atlanta police officer helped negotiate the removal of all boots from the attendees without payment.
“All the boots have been taken off,” the officer said on bodycam audio. “All is forgiven.”
Mobley received a parking refund and said the incident felt like an isolated occurrence unless EPS “is doing this all the time.”
Ticketmaster has not responded to requests for comment about the incident or whether all affected customers received parking refunds. EPS and LAZ did not respond to emails or phone calls seeking comment.
If there’s something you would like Atlanta News First Investigates to dig into, fill out this submission form.
Atlanta News First podcasts are available now on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | YouTube
Download our Atlanta News First app for your latest news and information.
Copyright 2025 WANF. All rights reserved.
