Investigates

Towing, booting costing drivers hundreds of dollars

PITTSBURGH — Parking in the wrong place can cost drivers hundreds of dollars in cash, which is prompting a Pittsburgh City councilman to take action.

"I said, 'I don't have cash.' He said, 'That's your problem. Goodbye,'" said Omar Tahmooni, a doctoral student. "I said, 'Guys, please stop, I am here. I just parked here.' They told me, 'We are sorry, it's too late now.'"

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Tahmooni was in Oakland eating a sandwich at Subway, and had parked his car across the street in a privately owned parking lot. The lot is filled with signs warning that if you're not shopping there, your car will be towed.

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"I just parked there for exactly 13 minutes," said Tahmooni. "They said, 'Whatever, we don't care, give us the money - $250 and we can give you back your car.'"

Other drivers told similar stories.

"(I said), 'This is my car, I need to leave.' He said, 'I can't do anything, you have to pay $250,'" said Rasha Al-Gha.

The stories are frustrating to Pittsburgh councilman Dan Gilman, who hears them on a fairly consistent basis from people in his district, which covers Oakland, Squirrel Hill, and Shadyside.

"None of it is illegal under current law, though it should be," said Gilman.

The problem is that there are no federal or state laws that regulate towing from private lots.

"That towing company is hiding across the street, behind a building, or even paying lookouts. I mean, I've witnessed them pay homeless people who are actually out there collecting change, who give a signal so that the car gets hooked," said Gilman.

WPXI's cameras captured an incident at a privately owned lot in Oakland where a man was working as a lookout with a tow truck waiting in the back of the parking lot. When 11 Investigates' Courtney Brennan approached the driver, he sped away.

"The police don't have to come and sign off, the manager of the store doesn't have to witness it, they just get a call that it's a black Jeep Cherokee and they come, swoop, your car's gone," said Gilman.

Gilman testified at state hearing and called for statewide regulations that would cap how much money towing companies can charge and require them to accept credit cards and have proper licenses and insurance.

For Tahmooni, those new rules can't come soon enough.

"Just for a couple minutes, this amount of money - it's big money,  especially for students," said Tahmooni.

If you believe you've been targeted wrongly by a towing company, you can file a complaint with the

Pennsylvania attorney general's office.

For more information on towing rules and regulations,

CLICK HERE.
 

Cox Media Group

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