VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A Central Florida woman who parked her SUV near a Volusia County beach inadvertently paid for a parking spot more than 1,000 miles away in Detroit due to an error caused by her cellphone’s spelling “auto correct” feature, News 6 has discovered.
Patricia Dennis later received a parking citation because Volusia County’s new automated parking system had no record of her making a $20 online payment to park at Toronita Avenue Beach Park in Wilbur-By-The-Sea.
Other beachgoers have had similar issues with their phones auto correcting a specific three-letter code for that parking lot while attempting to pay online, county officials confirmed.
After News 6 began asking questions about Dennis’s parking ticket, Volusia County officials changed the parking lot’s three-letter code to avoid future cellphone auto correct errors.
The county also dismissed Dennis’s parking ticket.
“I don’t think it would have been resolved without your help,” Dennis told News 6. “I wouldn’t have gotten this [money] back without you guys.”
On Jan. 1, Volusia County rolled out a new online payment system that utilizes license plate readers to collect a $30 fee for driving on the beach and $20 for parking at off-beach lots. County residents can obtain free annual parking permits.
To park at off-beach lots, visitors must enter their license plate number and credit card information on a payment website that can be accessed by scanning a QR code posted on signs.
Beachgoers can also access the payment website by sending a text message to 87517 and entering a three-letter code unique to each parking lot.
[Here’s what it costs for non-residents to visit Volusia County beaches]
On the day Dennis visited Toronita Avenue Beach Park, the code for that parking lot was FWW.
When Dennis attempted to enter that code into her phone, county officials believe her device’s autocorrect feature changed the spelling of FWW to the word “FEW.”
Instead of being directed to Volusia County’s parking payment website, Dennis received a link to a similar-looking website used to collect parking payments in Detroit, Michigan.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever been to Detroit,” Dennis told News 6.
The website that appeared on Dennis’s phone contained a small logo for Smart Park, a company that provides parking services in Detroit, and the address “2800 Woodward.”
That location is a vacant lot located one block away from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, where the Pistons play basketball.
“I never saw anything on my phone that mentioned it was for Detroit,” said Dennis, who quickly entered her license plate and bank card information while eager to get to the beach. “We’ve got all our stuff in our arms. We’re ready to go down to the water.”
Bank records confirm Dennis paid $20.40 to Smart Park.
But since her payment was for a parking spot in Detroit and not at Toronita Avenue Beach Park, Volusia County automatically issued Dennis a parking citation.
“I was surprised about that,” Dennis said. “I know I paid them.”
Still unaware of the mix-up caused by her phone’s autocorrect feature, Dennis attempted to dispute her parking citation by filing an online appeal using the Park Volusia website.
That appeal was denied, Dennis told News 6.
Although accused parking violators can further appeal their citations by requesting a hearing with a special magistrate, there is no indication Dennis did so.
Instead, Dennis mailed a $120 check to Volusia County to cover the cost of her parking fine and late fees.
Then, she contacted News 6 to express her concerns.
Two days after a News 6 reporter sent questions to Volusia County representatives about Dennis’s parking ticket, a county spokesperson acknowledged that Dennis received an incorrect payment link likely due to an auto correct error.
The county immediately dismissed Dennis’s citation and returned her check.
To prevent future autocorrect errors, county officials also changed the code at Toronita Avenue Beach Park to FW1. New stickers have been placed on signs throughout the parking lot informing beachgoers of the change.
Volusia County representatives did not immediately confirm how many other parking citations may have been dismissed due an incorrect code being entered, but they said the Toronita Avenue lot is the only one with a “consistent” autocorrect issue.
“It’s worth noting that this is new technology and the community is still learning,” said Michael Ryan, Volusia County’s director of community information. “We’re aware of those challenges and remain very accommodating and lenient when concerns arise that can be vetted and substantiated.”