Media
contact: Janet C. Hart, APR, CFEE (704)
927-8617 office
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – If you’re headed out to a fun evening in
Charlotte this weekend, the
Better Business Bureau has a warning for you - be careful where you park, or
you may come back to find that your vehicle has been booted or towed.
Towing vehicles from private parking lots in Charlotte has
become big business – so big that consumers are filing complaints with the BBB and
some are alleging predatory towing practices. Some of the city’s trendiest
areas, such as Dilworth and the South End, are hot spots for towing and booting
vehicles because parking in these areas is limited.
According to The Better Business Bureau, there are 34 towing
and wrecker services operating in the Charlotte area. The BBB has received 57
complaints about these towing and wrecker services in the last 12 months, and
112 complaints in the last 36 months. Not only are cars being towed from
business lots, vehicles are also being towed from apartment complex parking
lots, even when the owners live there, for simply having expired tags. Commercial drivers are also being affected by having their trucks booted or
towed.
Most parking lots in the Charlotte area are managed by
property management companies that lease space to businesses that may all share
a common parking lot. The terms of the
lease usually require the property manager to provide each business with a
designated number of parking spaces for their customers. To insure that parking
is available for all of the businesses, the property manager may retain a
towing service to enforce parking restrictions within the common parking lot so
that customers of one business do not take up all of the parking spaces in the
lot. In essence, the parking lot is subdivided with certain spaces allocated to
certain businesses. While this may seem fair to the businesses that share the common
parking lot, it can be a shock to drivers whose cars are towed or booted for simply
parking in the wrong spot in a common parking lot.
Several drivers, who parked in the Key Man Building Lot on
East Blvd., filed complaints with the BBB after they had their vehicles booted
or towed by United Towing (BBB Grade B). Many of these drivers were going to
nearby businesses, but parked in open spaces in the Key Man Building lot and
had their vehicles towed as a result. United Towing responded to these complaints
by alleging that these drivers were “stealing parking” from the Key Man
Building and that there is ample signage warning about illegal parking.
The City of Charlotte has a Towing Ordinance which addresses
some of the issues raised by consumers. For vehicles under 9,000 pounds, the
maximum booting fee is $50, the maximum towing fee is $120, and the maximum
storage fee $15/per day. It also stipulates signage requirements for properties
where towing is enforced and outlines other procedures that towing services
must follow. While drivers may feel that
the fees charged were too high, the towing services are following the City’s
towing ordinance.
Link Amendments to
City of Charlotte Towing Ordinance: http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CMPD/Ordinances/Towing+Ordinance.htm
Link City of
Charlotte Towing Ordinance: http://www.charmeck.org/NR/rdonlyres/euwsimkjc6x34v4tgptdf4wvii7xejl6sd4cvz2js2tuxrab7rohiaeudu6eixlt7zguiowljrzceh6bjirgnqnkomg/Towing+Ordinance+Post+7-26-04.pdf
However, the City of Charlotte’s Towing Ordinance does not
limit the fees that towing services can charge for vehicles over 9,000 pounds. This
loop hole makes booting or towing larger vehicles an extremely lucrative
business. One company, Complete Wrecker Service (BBB Grade F), has generated
more BBB complaints than any other towing service in Charlotte. Of the 57 BBB
complaints filed against towing services in the last 12 months, 14 of these
complaints were filed against Complete Wrecker Service.
Daniel Meredith of Charlotte was driving a vehicle hauler
loaded with new cars when he stopped at a shopping center in Charlotte to run
some errands. He returned to find that his truck was gone. Thinking the truck
and cars had been stolen, he called the police and learned that his truck had
been towed away by Complete Wrecker Service. The cost to get his truck back was
$1,950!
John Whitlock of Charlotte parked his truck in an area near
I-85 and Little Rock Road where he has routinely parked it many times without a
problem. When he came back two hours later, it was gone. He quickly learned
that Complete Wrecker Service had impounded his vehicle for illegal parking and
they charged him $1,850 to get his truck back. Mr. Whitlock recently told the
BBB that he has driven more than 3.2 million miles in the 44 years that he has
been a truck driver and he has never had his truck towed before this incident.
The BBB
has this advice for drivers:
- Know the City of
Charlotte Towing Ordinance – keep a copy of it in your car’s glove box so
you can refer to the maximum amount allowed for booting/towing fees and
other restrictions should your vehicle be booted or towed.
- Do not park
illegally, even for a brief period of time. Do not “create” a parking
space. Do not take up two spaces by having your vehicle’s wheels over the
white line of the adjoining space. Do not let your vehicle’s tag expire.
All of these actions could result in your vehicle being booted or towed
and you incurring a $50 - 120 fee.
- Look for signs in
the parking lot where you plan to park and read them carefully. See if
they designate certain spaces for certain businesses. Even if there is
only one parking lot for the whole shopping center, there may be
designated spaces for each business.
- If there is a
towing company actively working the lot where you plan to park, ask the
tow truck driver where you can legally park.
- Don’t delay
retrieving your vehicle if it has been towed because you will also have to
pay storage fees for each day your car sits in a tow lot. If your vehicle is towed at night, you
will probably not be able to retrieve it before 7 a.m. the next day, and
you will be charged for at least one night’s storage fees.
- If you have a
dispute with a towing company and you are parked on private property (such
as in a shopping center parking lot), the police cannot help you. However,
if you are on public property, such as a city street, and you believe that
the towing company is violating the City of Charlotte’s towing ordinance,
the police may be able to help you.
For more information, please visit www.bbb.org or call the BBB at (704) 927-8611 or toll-free in N.C. and S.C. at 1-877-317-7236.
###