no, they are just doing their job. if they park in front of shoprite and walk all the way across to the mall, they will still get towed. the signs are all over the lot, not just pepboys. As for your advice to just run in and run out of shoprite and then beeline it to the mall, you will still get towed since you are in violation. Why go through all that trouble to save 2 bux? its people who think like that who get towed and i dont feel sorry for them. Its their own arrogance that gets them in the position they find themselves in.

ok, heres the deal with towing at metro plaza. (shoprite,bj's,pepboys, bed bath beyond)

There are over 45 signs that clearly state" no mall parking, parking for customers only, all others with be towed at the owners expence".

There are cameras down by the lot that were recommended by the JCPD just for this reason. People are parking in the lot, running to the mall for an hour, 5 minutes or what time amount come back and see there car gone. So the person who just had their car towed runs into pepboys and buys a quick small purchase and then calls the police to report their car has been towed illegally. Besides the reason of proving their case that the car owner or driver did in fact go to the mall, they are filmed to record the time they went to the mall. If you car is towed at 9am and you have a reciept for 12:30pm, you still have to pay. Seeing your car gone, andf then making a quick purchase to try and get one over on the tow company dont work.

Either does going to court. Once in court the tow company brings in the film of the people going to the mall, and then in return they bring up a counter suit for time lost and flase charges braught up against them. No car is towed unless the driver is filmed going to the mall just for this matter. Everything the tow company is totally legal and they are just doing their job. If i see i sign that reads dont park here, if you are going to the mall, or you will get towed, im not going to park there. The people who get towed, are their own worse enemy and if they are stupid enough to do so, they deserve to get towed.

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she DOES know...the argument lies in whether or not she should pay over $100 bucks for something she didn't do. would you?

the "stress" lies in knowing when you are being swindled and demanding to see the proof they claim to have, knowing either the tape itself doesn't exist or it's a case of mistaken identity.

they know after they tow your car that you need it back right away and will pay handsomely for it. it's like they're collecting ransom.

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GNS Investors

Newsboy,

Who OWNS the lot?

hey, friedchicken, you've got it all wrong! didn't you just read that she in fact did not go to the mall? if she did, why would she ask for the videotape? people that know they did something wrong don't ask that..

i honestly think the towing guy is trying to get one over.. fight it, and see about the videotape, if there is one.. i guess most people don't want to fight it, even if they know they did nothing wrong, because it takes up a lot of time..

i know i would fight it.. i couldn't 'suck it up and pay' even if it was $1 - if you're telling me i did something i didn't do, you've got a fight on your hands..



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Yesterday I indulged myself with a trashy afternoon of television, and watched The People's Court. There it was! A parking lot at a bowling alley, with signs posted that cars would be towed for unauthorized parking. A woman complained that she had parked her car in the lot and went across the street to get a cup of french-vanilla coffee before going to bowl. Her car was towed. She insisted that the towing company and bowling alley were engaged in what she called a "racketeering scam". ( I think she meant racket ). She was so pissed, the next day she went back to the bowling alley and photographed another car being towed off the lot ( whose owner had walked across the street into another establishment ). The tow-truck agent explained that the bowling alley did use video cameras, and that his company had a contract with them to remove cars who were not authorized ( non-bowlers ). Asked if the bowling alley served coffee, the woman explained that, yes, they do - but not french vanilla. Needless to say, she lost her case.

The question is weather or not she really did go somewhere else instead of to bj's or shoprite or whatever. She may in fact have gone to shoprite to pick up a pack of gum but that certainly doesnt give her the right to park her car there all day long and shop in the area.

Why even bother to see the tape, if she knows she didnt park her car there to shop somewhere else why the stress to see the tape, she shouldnt need the tape, SHE SHOULD KNOW.

Now i guess im playing devils advocate here but if she did in fact do that then well what can you say, she got caught. Its like a speeding ticket, you know everyone does it but it sux YOU got caught. I say suck it up and pay it if she in fact did just park her car there and shop somewhere else.

Danny has been towing from the lot for the past six years maybe more.
There are signs posted about the parking for customers only.

He video tapes people leaving the lot after parking.

He is following city ordinance and state law regarding towing from private property.

He also has the authorization of the owner of the lot and of the stores that lease it.

Good luck trying to beat him. I never heard of anyone doing it.

There is a sign in the parking lot near Pep Boys that says that there are cameras in use monitoring the parking lot and if anyone is caught parking there and going to the mall, they will get towed.

the issue that i'm concerned about is that a receipt in and of itself would not be sufficient proof that she did not go to the mall before or after. the burden would, and should, be on the towing company to provide the video.

when she told the manager (who claimed to be the only one there usually) that she was going to get a lawyer, he told her "go ahead". they do not appear to be threatened by the thought of a lawyer being involved; i'm assuming they don't think she'll actually do it.

as an aside, i've come in contact with a lot of people (okay, men) associated with the automotive industry who believe they can intimidate female customers. i had an experience once with a horrifically rude mechanic that i KNOW would not have happened to, say, my father.

i may be off here, but to me this is the work of a "bully".

I know it used to be the case (and can't see why it still wouldn't be).........

The towing guy who has "the contract" for that parking lot is Danny's Towing out by Division Street near the gym.

I'm around Hamilton Park at all sorts of random times, and you can see him multiple times a day going out 8th Street with a car and coming back out 7th Street empty and on his way to hook the next victim. It's the same route over and over again, so it's a good bet that the cars are all coming from the same place.

It would be interesting to know what kind of arrangement he has in order to have the market exclsuively cornered on that parking lot. The guy must make a mint (assuming it's still his racket, which I'm sure it is).

I dealt with him one time years ago for a private tow. I think he's sort of a tool.

If she plans to go to court, it might end up in small claims court, given there were no tickets issued (as it was private property, private towing company). She doesn't need a lawyer for small claims, unless she wants to spend the money.

Another thing would be to go to the store itself with a receipt, ask to speak to the manager, and complain her car was towed. That might be the most efficient way to resolve the matter.

On a side note... my roommate has seen JC police giving tickets to people using the parking lot of BJ's as a cut-through from 2nd St near Washington. Doesn't make sense but be on the alert for abuse of power.

If she can find documentation of when she was towed and can show a judge a reciept from BJ's or the auto store that's roughly the same time, she should have no problem winning in court.

has anyone else had this problem? a coworker of mine had her car towed from the shoprite parking lot because the towing company claimed he had video cameras there and saw her park her car and go to jcpenney at the mall. when she told him she did not, in fact, go to jcpenney and asked to see said video tape, he refused to show her the tape and became beligerent. he charged her $80 for the towing, $20 as a "storage fee", and another $20 for getting the car on the tow truck.

she's getting a lawyer involved but this screams scam to me...anyone else?