Anyone had their car towed for no reason?

**Django** · November-16-14, 03:24 PM

My girl recently had her car towed from out front of her house where she as parked for 13 years. It cost $200 to get it back with no explanation. The tow company is also the same company who tows for the police so the police are of no help. Other friends have also had this happen to them. I apologize If this has already been discussed.

**313WX** · November-16-14, 03:28 PM

Originally Posted by Django

My girl recently had her car towed from out front of her house where she as parked for 13 years. It cost $200 to get it back with no explanation. The tow company is also the same company who tows for the police so the police are of no help. Other friends have also had this happen to them. I apologize If this has already been discussed.

Was your girl and these other friends parked "illegally" on the street?

**Django** · November-16-14, 04:04 PM

Nope. Perfectly legal. No signs, fire hydrants, and I know at least my girl is adamant about parking within 12" of the curb. She would never leave her car in the street. Even if she did, say park her car further than 12" from the curb, that should be a ticket from an enforcement officer and not just a tow truck driver driving around looking for illegally parked cars. There was no paperwork or tickets issued from the DPD. Her block is residential in a block of nice homes on the Eastside, we don't have parking enforcement officers riding around our streets.

**Richard** · November-16-14, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by Django

My girl recently had her car towed from out front of her house where she as parked for 13 years. It cost $200 to get it back with no explanation. The tow company is also the same company who tows for the police so the police are of no help. Other friends have also had this happen to them. I apologize If this has already been discussed.

There was a thread recently on this subject,also recently the police chief announced an investigation on this subject.

If you feel you were wronged and have some proof it might be best to email or contact him directly,if no reply you do have a representative in your district with the city council you can contact them also,I believe the FBI is also involved so also contact them as a last resort.Please be relentless as it would do the city no good to let this slide.

**softailrider** · November-16-14, 06:18 PM

Come into the city and go shopping or go out to dinner. Park in a legal spot come back and your vehicle is gone. Power tripping meter maids working in cahoots with rogue tow truck drivers. Sure makes the city a welcoming place.

**Gpwrangler** · November-16-14, 06:59 PM

Some cities are starting to enforce "no overnight parking" rules, which are posted at city limits, not on the streets. Tow truck drivers can't enforce, they just tow when told to by police.

**animatedmartian** · November-16-14, 07:45 PM

Originally Posted by softailrider

Come into the city and go shopping or go out to dinner. Park in a legal spot come back and your vehicle is gone. Power tripping meter maids working in cahoots with rogue tow truck drivers. Sure makes the city a welcoming place.

OP is presumably talking about a residential area where such meters don't exist. Totally different situation.

**Dan Wesson** · November-16-14, 08:04 PM

I suspect that stuff like this is going to increase and any redress is gonna fall on deaf ears because LE has been given the green light to abscond with citizens property and cash with all the civil forfeiture laws on the books now.

The OP has already started a thread on this topic before. Why again?

**Gpwrangler** · November-16-14, 08:14 PM

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

OP is presumably talking about a residential area where such meters don't exist. Totally different situation.

Sometimes people with plenty of garage space leave cars in the street anyway, especially if there are teenagers in the family that come and go often or don't drive well enough to park next to the house or in the yard without hitting things. If neighbors can't park in front of their own home, or tire of kids coming and going 20 times in the middle of the night, they may call the cops. Depending on overnight parking rules, cars may be towed...

Glad I'm done with the "kid" days. I park in the garage and ignore the drama.

**sumas** · November-16-14, 08:21 PM

Might have been me Django. The old Holy Spirit which is alive, [[still looks good at 22) and well in Brightmoor got a strange ticket. It got mailed. Licensed, plated, insured. Used almost daily. Still clueless. The ticket was for a derelict vehicle parked on a city street??? Fought that one and won Still clueless. The ticket actually got issued from the 11th precinct, we live int the 7th????

**compn** · November-16-14, 08:21 PM

Originally Posted by Django

There was no paperwork or tickets issued from the DPD.

howd she find out where her car was if there was no paperwork, no police, and her car was gone ?

**313WX** · November-16-14, 08:21 PM

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

OP is presumably talking about a residential area where such meters don't exist. Totally different situation.

Some residential streets in the inner city neighborhoods of Detroit have street parking signs that regulate what type of parking is legal or not.

**animatedmartian** · November-16-14, 08:38 PM

Originally Posted by 313WX

Some residential streets in the inner city neighborhoods of Detroit have street parking signs that regulate what type of parking is legal or not.

I know in the area where I grew up near Dexter and Davison, you could only park on the right-hand side of the street [[when you're facing east) but I'm not sure of any other rules.

**sumas** · November-16-14, 08:44 PM

GP. we lived in the cabbage patch for several years as renters. Upstairs downstairs scenario. Never an issue, we had keys to our neighbors car and he ours. When our adult children would visit they would get rude comments on wind shields saying you are parking in my spot. Public street, so really go figure.

**Gpwrangler** · November-16-14, 09:17 PM

Originally Posted by sumas

GP. we lived in the cabbage patch for several years as renters. Upstairs downstairs scenario. Never an issue, we had keys to our neighbors car and he ours. When our adult children would visit they would get rude comments on wind shields saying you are parking in my spot. Public street, so really go figure.

I actually like it when my neighbors park in front of my house. But I know some people are a little funny about it. my neighbors move on leaf pickup days etc. not a problem. And I keep an eye on their cars for them. Nice enough folks.

"Holy" spirit huh? Towed one once, for a young girl after someone tried to steal the catalytic converter and rendered the car undriveable. An old Spirit, kinda sad because it was her only way to get to work.

**old guy** · November-17-14, 01:03 AM

He did say she's been parking in the same spot for 13 years. You might give her the benefit of the doubt that she has some perspective as to whether or not she could safely and legally park in that spot.

**davewindsor** · November-17-14, 01:35 AM

Originally Posted by compn

howd she find out where her car was if there was no paperwork, no police, and her car was gone ?

I was gonna say the exact same thing. Something doesn't add up about this story.

**sumas** · November-17-14, 04:00 AM

No reason to doubt Django, Weird things do happen! Always grateful when they don't happen to me. I still can't understand that dumb ticket we got? Down the street, two boats and two vans parked for years, don't complain. Off the street, BFD! The property is city owned but maintained by area residents.

**Novack** · November-17-14, 06:48 AM

Ahhhh Detroit and its parking, towing, meter maids.

I just got a ticket for parking legally down by the Michigan Science Center. I instantly became nostalgic of when I lived in the City and they kept ticketing my truck outside the house I rented. I parked there for years and years and one day every day this meter maid- tax lady would ticket the truck. Finally I waited for her to come by once and I asked her what she thought she was doing? I pointed out that I was not parked illegally. She had no comment and drove off and I was never ticketed again.

So my thoughts are on revenue. They [[the meter maids- tax folks) assume you will be to lazy to fight the ticket and back then it was a mere 20 dollars.......now 45? I am sure this common meter maid practice will get cited.

**Django** · November-17-14, 06:57 PM

Originally Posted by Dan Wesson

The OP has already started a thread on this topic before. Why again?

I completely forgot I had already started a thread about this. I recently heard of another friend who had their car towed for no reason and got all fired up. As far as whoever said the story doesn't add up, I really have no reason to make something like this up. My girl called the police when we saw her car wasn't out front thinking it was stolen. Cops said it had been towed, no explanation.
Thank you Richard for the heads up. Starting this thread I was just looking for others this may have happened to hoping to get some changes done. Sorry about the double thread. Don't do drugs kids.

**Jimaz** · November-17-14, 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by Django

... Cops said it had been towed, no explanation....

A-hah! They are accomplices to grand theft auto, eh?

But seriously, I vaguely recall some similar news story about questionable towings around Detroit from several years ago. It might be worth Googling.

**Richard** · November-17-14, 07:33 PM

200,000 cars towed in one year in Detroit = $39,000,000 a year business.

Thats a lot of funds to have the potential for corruption,the city council was pushing to take over the towing services in the city name,not sure what the results were.

**Jimaz** · November-17-14, 07:37 PM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

A-hah! They are accomplices to grand theft auto, eh?

But seriously, I vaguely recall some similar news story about questionable towings around Detroit from several years ago. It might be worth Googling.

This might be the story of which I was thinking. It's about civil forfeiture. Pretty egregious stuff.

Wayne Co. profits from police property seizures

That's from 5 years ago. I don't know whether there have been any reforms.

**Jimaz** · November-17-14, 08:55 PM

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**Django** · November-17-14, 11:15 PM

As I understand civil forfeiture really took off as a revenue source with the drug war and now is just the norm. Heres a great assessment by John Oliver. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kEpZWGgJks It may sound boring but you wont stop laughing at the absurdity. This clip also has a Detroit connection. Aaron Timlin, someone who I am proud to call a brother, was running the art gallery CAID when it was raided several years ago by a Detroit SWAT type unit because of Funk Night which was a monthly dance party with DJs. They came in in full riot gear putting a bunch of suburbanites to the ground in handcuffs and seized over 30 cars. Each car cost $900 to be released. Aaron took it to court and as I understand won. Geeze I want to like and respect our police but this kind of BS has to be questioned.