Complaint Review: Capital Towing

There is a scandal taking place in Arlington, Texas with the towing company and the parking management during sports events. On Saturday, October 1, 2011, my wife and I attended the MLB Divisional Playoff game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers. As we arrived in Arlington, we located a reasonably priced parking lot for $10, located at the 1200 block of Road to Six Flags St. E.

We proceeded to enter the parking lot to ask the attendants with the orange vests if parking was available and they waved us right in. I pulled further into the driveway to pay the attendant collecting money. I gave him a $20 bill and he gave me $10 for change.

I waited for a second to wait for my ticket, which they usually just place on the dash themselves. The attendant just stared at me as if I needed to move on. So I proceeded to park. That's what got my vehicle impounded,  no parking ticket received.

I also wanted to note that I am originally from Florida and I am a Rays fan. My wife and I decided to wear the Rays gear this time and I believe this is how the attendant selected us as the next victim. There is no doubt in my mind the attendant who collected the money knew what he was doing.

After the game, we approached the lot and we could not locate our vehicle. I located an Arlington PD Officer and he asked if I had paid and I said yes. The officer asked for my license plate for the vehicle which I provided and he did confirm my vehicle was impounded. The officer apologized about the incident and he provided the phone number to Capital Towing (he knew the company right away which I thought was interesting;probably not the first time!).

I called Capital Towing and provided the vehicle description the next morning which was Sunday, October 2,2011. I attempted to explain to the female answering the phone what had happened only to receive a you have to pay to park response. Of course I told her that was not true and I did pay the attendant who did not provide a ticket. The operator responded I should have paid to park. The total for not even a 24 hour storage was $271.45.

I paid the amount on Sunday, October 2nd and I asked the cashier at the window the name of the parking management company and he said I would have the owner of the company Frank. I called the next day Monday, October 3,2011 to ask for the company's name who managed the parking lot. The same female who answer the phone the previous day and told me it was Parking Company of America. The operator said she had no contact information for them.

After asking two employees of the towing company for a phone number of the parking management company, I believe they want to make it seem as if they don't communicate at all for identifying what vehicles to tow? How can a towing company just show up at the lot without speaking with management to know which cars to tow? Not possible!

I have worked in the parking industry for ten years and there cannot be a towing company just showing up at a lot because the attendants would have to show them exactly where the vehicle is. My receipt indicates that the tow truck placed my vehicle in their lot at 7:12 pm October 1st. I arrived at the lot at 5:15pm. The game started at 6:05pm. Judging by the time, the towing company started towing vehicles just after I parked?

This is a routine they have with the parking management company. The towing company and the parking company time it for game time, the attendant tells them what vehicle to look for and they take it. There is no way the cashier forgot, he knew right away because my car was not parked up front it was parked toward the back which also indicates the accuracy of my arrival time. Most vehicles will park closest to the exit if they arrive early. I did not arrive early so I parked towards the back.

The attendant could not have counted all his money and deposited it then go through the whole lot for vehicles and provided the information to the towing company. This was only a two hour time frame from the time I entered and  to have my vehicle in the impound lot in Fort Worth which is about 15 miles from Arlington.

Unfortunately, I see no hope in receiving my money for this. Both the towing company and the parking company will claim I did not pay that is why your vehicle was towed. After searching for my vehicle that night, I realized there was only one entry and exit in the lot and there was no way I could have parked into the lot without paying. My vehicle is low to the ground and it would be impossible to jump a curb.

This experience has shown me the lack of accountability there is with parking for major events. They continue to impound vehicles like mine because there are no repercussions for their actions. The attendant targeted me because of my out of town look and they figured there would be no time to dispute since they assumed I would be too far from home to pursue this.