u/beekindbro

2016 E350 polar white / tan 95k @ $18k. All service done, new bag system, spark plugs replaced, all fluids done. Old tires but 8/10 clean car

Little late posting, life’s been busy & I’ve been debating how to best handle.

On Friday night, 6/19, I parked in the MLK lot downtown. By the end of the night I was not in a state to drive, however, my husband drove me to the lot so that he could check on my car & know where to take me the next day to retrieve it. We get to the MLK lot and my car was nowhere to be found! Despite not being sober minded, I knew 100% EXACTLY where I parked. Checked messages, confirmed my parking was paid until 5:04am. According to my texts, I re-upped my payment before my parking expired.

My initial thought was someone stole my car. Husband calls the phone number listed on the sign in the parking lot and it turns out my fing car had been towed!!

Gotcha Towing picked up my car even though I had several hours of time left!! My husband talked to the manager, he said it would be $400 to get the car back. After some back and forth, the manager agreed to let the car go for $100 if we could show proof parking was paid because he still needed to “pay his driver”. Also worth noting, the guy said something must have gone wrong because he couldn’t find my car in the database (meaning they knew they
F’d up and I shouldn’t have been towed). We tell him we will be back around 11am the next day to pick the car up. The manager says to call or text him when we are on the way. The following morning we head that way and try to call while enroute. It rings once then goes to vm. Tried 2 more times, same thing. No luck. It was apparent our calls were being ignored! Send a text, no response. We get to the lot where my car is (which isn’t even their property). We are told by the lady working that it’s by appointment only (we were not informed of that). Understandably she says she can’t accept $100 unless she talks to the manager, who she also had been unable to get in touch with. Luckily we get him on the phone, he tells her to take the $100. They hang up. She says cash only. We didn’t have cash because no one told us cash only. At this point, I’m so over the entire situation. My husband had to be at work, I needed my car, & I was getting more pissed by the moment. She begrudgingly says she’ll take cashapp. We pay. I get my car.

I’ve been fuming since then for several reasons: 1) Gotcha Towing seems to be a predatory in nature. I’ve read their Google reviews. They also have an F rating with BBB. 2) I was fortunate enough to be able to pay to get my car back but what about those who can’t??? 3) I’m now very apprehensive about parking downtown because of fear I will be towed again without cause.

I know I’m not the only one who has fell victim to Gotcha Towing. Something needs to be done. Is anyone willing to share their story? I’ve considered taking out charges for theft of my car but I don’t how much leverage I have. If more people are willing to speak out though, maybe we can get the city to address their predatory towing practices.

Happy 250th. Fitting week for it: Hillsborough, Pittsboro, and Chatham County have all pulled the plug on Flock's license-plate cameras, and HB 206 sadly makes the SBI's highway version permanent. The through-line back to 1776 is the general warrant — the suspicionless search the Fourth Amendment was written to ban.