‘Boot Girls in Buckhead’ team up to unlock car boots

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - “We ain’t got no beef with the people that put on the boots, but we’re going to take it off,” said the ‘Boot Girls in Buckhead.’

The best friend duo, who wear masks to remain anonymous, say they’re saving Buckhead one metal boot at a time.

In Georgia, a private parking enforcement company can boot your car if the municipality has an ordinance to do it.

They’ll charge you to remove it and if you don’t pay in 24 hours, they’ll tow and impound your car. But the boot girls show up quickly when you reach out to them.

They charge $50 to remove a boot and it’s all thanks to a magic key that unlocks a metal car boot.

They’re not the only ones with the key.

Atlanta News First spoke with entrepreneur Christian Vernette last year who sells duplicates of the key online.

“If the key unlocks the boot and you leave it, there is no damage,” Vernette said.

Atlanta Police say possessing the key is legal, but whether it’s illegal to remove the boot is a little murky. You certainly can’t damage or steal the boot.

The boot girls leave it on the curb when they’re done.

“There are people within APD who don’t want to admit that this is legal,” said Sen. Josh McLaurin, a Democrat representing North Fulton.

If your boot also came with a parking ticket, which often isn’t the case, you’re still responsible for that fine.

Senator McLaurin says booting companies are predatory and, unlike towing companies, are not regulated. He wants to ban booting entirely and fully supports creative ways for people to fight back.

“The people who are defending booting are either making more money off of it, making commissions or whatever. Or they don’t want to spend the money to secure their parking lot in a way that protects consumers,” he said.