Tow Company Refunds Lincoln Park Ladies
Hell has not frozen over.
I know because I just checked.
But something has happened that would make you think the Devil and his minions were breaking out the ice skates.
Phillips Towing just refunded that group of ladies CBS 2 reported about who all had their cars towed from a parking lot next to Lincoln Park cafe.
It seems that the CBS story piqued the interest of the Illinois Commerce Commission, who checked out the signs Phillips posted at the lot and, surprise, surprise, determined they were not posted properly.
Phillips had to cough up $200 each for 10 “improperly” towed vehicles for a total of $2000. Ouch!
Lincoln Park Ladies 10, Philliips Towing 0.
Read the CBS 2 account, “Refunds Ordered For Moms Towed From Improperly Marked Lot.”
Weird. So, if property lacks proper signage, you can park on it, even though you would be trespassing and the owner cannot legally tow you off.
Hell has indeed frozen over.
Cannot say that this makes much sense, but I have my own past beefs with Lincoln, so — good on you ladies.
Trespassing is a criminal charge. If someone is trespassing on your property, call the police. If the police tow your car, then that’s all fine and dandy. The issue is that Lincoln Towing doesn’t OWN the lot, nor are they the police. This is a civil matter. Lincoln Towing needs to follow the rules before they start making money off people.
They only had to cough up what that sucked up. Makes no sense that a property has to be properly posted if you can just tow people when it is not properly posted. The Trixies should get their money back.
Years ago, in Hyde Park, I had my car towed from my paid monthly parking space. I called them and they were like, “Screw you–pay us.” My now-wife called one of the news stations–must have been a slow news day. A reporter came out, I was on TV for 40 seconds and the next day my car was back in its space. Had I not known it was gone, I would have never known they took it.
Friend of mine parked his car at a girlfriend’s house in Cicero. Had been parking on the same street for weeks. One day he came out and he’d been towed. Went down to the city and said, “You towed me!”
Guy at the window said, “Two hundred dollars!”
He said, “But there are no street signs saying that I can’t park there. None at all!”
Guy at the window thought for a moment and said, “One hundred dollars!”
I still laugh at him about that. You visit Cicero, you get what you get.
Chris, good for you on that tow.
If everyone, especially the tow companies, just play by the rules, then it’s hard to have an issue with them. However, historically, many tow operators don’t like to play by the rules or choose not to do the right thing.
In this particular case, it sounds like signs were posted, but not where anyone could see them. The other thing is, the drivers may have assumed the parking lot next to the cafe was controlled by the cafe.
But, good stories Chris. Thanks for sharing.
My only comment on this is thus:
When ever I pull into a parking lot in Chicago, I make a 360 scan of the lot and look for Tow Company signs, because I KNOW that the majority of property owners in this city contract out lot enforcement and I don’t want to be surprised in a financial way.
Fines for illegal towing are not nearly enough. If drivers are expected to adhere to the letter of the law with no leniency for misunderstandings, so should towing companies. Towing from a lot with improperly posted signage should result in a minimum fine of $2000 per car. Otherwise the lesson will not be learned.