A woman, whose name is Lisa, said her family owns trucks.
A woman who’s family owns 18-wheelers said one of their drivers was making a delivery and was ahead of schedule, so he parked along West Pointe Drive in west Charlotte to kill time. The driver stayed with the truck that was admittedly parked illegally.
‘Like a magician’: Driver says company towed her truck, charged her $3,600
“He did see that it was at a private towing area,” Lisa told Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke. “Since he thought it was just a short time that he was going to be there, probably a few minutes, he didn’t really think that there would be any towing.”
However, the driver was wrong. Ingram’s Towing and Recovery hooked up the truck.
“They told us it would be $3,000 to drop it,” Lisa said.
The tow company said the driver refused to pay and even tried to drive it off the lift.
Lisa came to the scene and agreed to pay the $3,000, but she said — then — the price went up.
“It would be $6,000,” she said.
Ingram’s lawyer didn’t confirm or deny that detail but told Stoogenke that $6,000 is the “going rate” for trucks in Charlotte.
Both sides said other truck drivers from different companies were also parked along the same stretch. While Lisa and the tow company were negotiating, Lisa’s driver reportedly warned the others to move before they were towed.
The other drivers listened and left before they could get towed.
Ingram’s said it lost business, because it didn’t tow five semi-trucks, and that it was Lisa’s driver’s fault.
So, her bill jumped to $12,000 to cover the loss.
That’s not even the maximum.
According to the signs along that stretch, if a semi-truck parks there illegally, the penalty is up to $15,000.
Lisa says they had jobs to do and couldn’t waste more time, so she paid the cost.
“I feel nauseous,” she said. “I was … We could not sleep that night.”
What you should know about towing:
This took place on private property. When you park on private property, it can be hard to win a dispute.
The City of Charlotte’s rules highlights:
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There have to be signs on the property warning you about towing
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They must be easy to read.
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The tow company must accept cash and two major credit cards.
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It must have someone on-call who can release your vehicle within 45 minutes.
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You’re entitled to retrieve your personal property from the vehicle.
North Carolina lawmakers are considering even more rules for tow companies. It’s not clear if the bill will make it out of committee.
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