A FREQUENT traveler had parked at the airport but came back from a trip to find his vehicle had vanished.
The driver was forced to pay a $220 fee after being told his car had been towed.
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When Dave Peterson returned to the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas he said the entire parking lot was eerily empty.
“The entire floor was empty when I got off the elevator,” Peterson told CBS’s Texas affiliate, KHOU.
“I went, ‘This is the most surreal thing I’ve probably ever experienced.'”
Peterson said he paid a whopping $250 fine to get his car back from the towing company but still didn’t know why it was taken in the first place.
“It was not cheap,” Peterson said.
Peterson told KHOU that he regularly parks at the Terminal E garage when he travels and never encountered any issues.
After calling customer service, the driver was informed that the lot was closed on the day Peterson was traveling due to some maintenance issues.
A spokesperson shared photos of the parking lot, which had signs warning drivers that if they parked there, they could be towed.
“Unfortunately, despite the clearly marked restrictions, several drivers, including the individual who contacted KHOU, proceeded to park in the closed area,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“In some instances, this involved moving the barriers to gain access.”
But Peterson said he doesn’t recall seeing any of the mentioned warning signs to deter drivers from parking in that area.
He thinks someone could have removed the signs before he got to the parking lot.
“There was nothing that I saw that had any sort of signage,” Peterson said.
“There were no barricades, yellow tape or actual barriers, no nothing.”
What to do if your car is towed
Wrongfully or not, retrieving a towed vehicle can be a hassle.
If your vehicle is towed after parking in a “No Parking” zone or other legitimate reason, there are a few steps to take to get it back.
Steps to take when your car is towed:
- Try to figure out why your car was towed. Did you not see a posted “No Parking” sign? Did you miss a car payment? Did you return to a lot where you have unpaid citations? Finding the reason can narrow down the phone numbers to dial.
- Locate the vehicle. Most states, cities, or counties require towing companies to leave some form of contact information via a posted sign or sent by mail.
- Recovery dates and times depend on the company that towed the vehicle, but those times will be posted to the website or can be recited by a representative.
- Pay the fees. Be careful to be as prompt as possible, as some tow yards may charge storage fees by the day.
If you feel your vehicle was wrongfully towed, contesting the action can be done with the following steps:
- Be prompt – many states have a small window of time where it’s acceptable to file a complaint against a company that wrongfully towed the vehicle.
- Gather supporting documents: photos, emails, receipts, police reports, and witness statements if applicable. The more evidence, the better.
- Get familiar with your local laws, as laws for towing companies vary per state.
- Try speaking with the towing company. Sometimes it may have been a simple oversight, and the matter can be resolved quickly.
- Contact the Justice of the Peace in your area, as they may have more insight or resources to help. They are often utilized for towing cases.
- Talk to a lawyer. Many lawyers have free case consultations, and depending on the case, it may be worth it to utilize a lawyer.
Source: Oregon Department of Justice, National General, Rak Law Firm
Despite the miscommunication, Peterson believes he was wrongfully towed and shouldn’t have to pay the price.
Peterson’s Honda sedan was not the only car that had been removed — several other cars had also been towed.
The Texas resident said he would never knowingly park illegally at the airport — especially being a frequent traveler.
“I was not going for, you know, an hour to pick somebody up and hoping that I could cheat my way through,” he said.
“I knew I was going to be gone for days. I wasn’t going to go park illegally on purpose.”
After being told he would not be reimbursed, Peterson said he might rethink parking at the airport garage next time he flies.
