Jet Wrecker - Rhonda Lane Storage Company SCAM ILLEGAL TOWING!! Towed car illegally held car illegally Ripoff Houston Texas
I went to eat a few weeks ago at Sushi King on the corner of Richmond and Kirby with my husband and two step-kids who were down visiting for a short time from Missouri. We parked in their lot, and I walked to check Pappisitos next door for their wait time, and my husband walked into Sushi King to check their menu and wait time there. He then never left Sushi King, but called me on my cell and told me to walk over with the kids. I did so, and we sat down and enjoyed our very rare family meal together.
It was going great until we walked out, and found that my car was gone. When we went back into Sushi King we were told that it had likely been towed, and they gave us a few numbers to call around to. An employee even admitted her car had been towed while at work, and that she had to go through the same ordeal, and had yet to get her money back. None of the numbers they gave us, including HPD, had record of towing my car but they all did inform me that towing companies had up to an hour to call a towed vehicle in.
Needless to say, we stood in that parking lot for over an hour trying to find out just who had towed my car and where they had taken it. In the end, we only found out who had towed our car by running through the parking lot and confronting a tow truck that had pulled in and was towing another car off the lot. The Jet Wrecker driver admitted that he towed our car, told us to call the number for the property manager on the sign, and drove off.
Upon calling the number on the sign, we realized that although it was to the property manager, unless it was within their business hours, you could not talk to anyone with their company. It transferred you directly to the impound lot which they dealt with, Ronda Lane Auto Storage. I was at first relieved at least to finally know who had my car.
However, when I talked to the first employee and tried to explain the situation, he told me that it was not his problem and then hung up on me when I began to question him. When I called back I was hung up on a second time by a different employee. The third time, I was laughed at and told that I would get my car when I showed up with the $200 in my hand, and hung up on again.
Stranded in a parking lot with our two kids, we had no choice but to go to an ATM and get the cash, then take a cab ride to the impound lot. When we arrived at the impund lot, the employees laughed at us again.
This whole mess led to us paying out of pocket a towing fee and cab fare for a company who apparently feels they can tow at will and without care for the lives they throw into mayhem. It took us three and a half hours to get home from the time we walked out Sushi King until the time we made it into Pearland. I don't understand a system that allows these companies to still be in business making a profit off of unsuspecting families just trying to have a meal together.
Donna
Houston, Texas
U.S.A.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Jennifer
Salinas,California,
U.S.A.
predatory towing
#5Consumer Comment
Thu, July 12, 2007
Ok so your vehicle was towed from private property. I know that in some states, such as California "predatory towing" (where tow trucks patrol parking lots and take it upon themselves to remove vehicles if the owner is not a customer/tenant, or if if the vehicle has no permit if the lot requires one) is illegal. A car can only be towed from private property if the property manager/property owner personally calls the tow truck company and requests them to remove the vehicle. From what you said, it looks as the tow company refused to tell you who authorized your car to be towed right? So at this point you don't know if Sushi King called the tow company, or if the tow company patrols the parking lot on its own (which is what it sounds like ) I would definitely look this up in the Texas Vehicle Code and see what laws might have been violated. You were a customer of the Sushi King and if the car was towed while you were inside, then whoever authorized the tow is responsible.
If the tow company was hired to monitor the parking lot and no one authorized them to tow you car and that type of practice is legal in Texas, then the car should be released back to you at no charge, and the fee's owed are to be paid by the person authorizing the tow, or again if no one called the tow company in the first place, then they are owed nothing! At the very least, you should file a small claims action against the tow company as long as you can prove it was a mistake .If you have your receipt from the Sushi King or maybe even a bank or credit card statement than that should be enough, because I know that the law requires tow companies to document each and every car they tow and their paperwork should have the same date and time frame as your receipt, however if they are as shady as they sound they will probably falsify their records. Either way, you are the victim here and even if Texas has no laws against predatory towing, you are not responsible for someone else's mistake!
Jennifer
Salinas,California,
U.S.A.
predatory towing
#5Consumer Comment
Thu, July 12, 2007
Ok so your vehicle was towed from private property. I know that in some states, such as California "predatory towing" (where tow trucks patrol parking lots and take it upon themselves to remove vehicles if the owner is not a customer/tenant, or if if the vehicle has no permit if the lot requires one) is illegal. A car can only be towed from private property if the property manager/property owner personally calls the tow truck company and requests them to remove the vehicle. From what you said, it looks as the tow company refused to tell you who authorized your car to be towed right? So at this point you don't know if Sushi King called the tow company, or if the tow company patrols the parking lot on its own (which is what it sounds like ) I would definitely look this up in the Texas Vehicle Code and see what laws might have been violated. You were a customer of the Sushi King and if the car was towed while you were inside, then whoever authorized the tow is responsible.
If the tow company was hired to monitor the parking lot and no one authorized them to tow you car and that type of practice is legal in Texas, then the car should be released back to you at no charge, and the fee's owed are to be paid by the person authorizing the tow, or again if no one called the tow company in the first place, then they are owed nothing! At the very least, you should file a small claims action against the tow company as long as you can prove it was a mistake .If you have your receipt from the Sushi King or maybe even a bank or credit card statement than that should be enough, because I know that the law requires tow companies to document each and every car they tow and their paperwork should have the same date and time frame as your receipt, however if they are as shady as they sound they will probably falsify their records. Either way, you are the victim here and even if Texas has no laws against predatory towing, you are not responsible for someone else's mistake!
Jennifer
Salinas,California,
U.S.A.
predatory towing
#5Consumer Comment
Thu, July 12, 2007
Ok so your vehicle was towed from private property. I know that in some states, such as California "predatory towing" (where tow trucks patrol parking lots and take it upon themselves to remove vehicles if the owner is not a customer/tenant, or if if the vehicle has no permit if the lot requires one) is illegal. A car can only be towed from private property if the property manager/property owner personally calls the tow truck company and requests them to remove the vehicle. From what you said, it looks as the tow company refused to tell you who authorized your car to be towed right? So at this point you don't know if Sushi King called the tow company, or if the tow company patrols the parking lot on its own (which is what it sounds like ) I would definitely look this up in the Texas Vehicle Code and see what laws might have been violated. You were a customer of the Sushi King and if the car was towed while you were inside, then whoever authorized the tow is responsible.
If the tow company was hired to monitor the parking lot and no one authorized them to tow you car and that type of practice is legal in Texas, then the car should be released back to you at no charge, and the fee's owed are to be paid by the person authorizing the tow, or again if no one called the tow company in the first place, then they are owed nothing! At the very least, you should file a small claims action against the tow company as long as you can prove it was a mistake .If you have your receipt from the Sushi King or maybe even a bank or credit card statement than that should be enough, because I know that the law requires tow companies to document each and every car they tow and their paperwork should have the same date and time frame as your receipt, however if they are as shady as they sound they will probably falsify their records. Either way, you are the victim here and even if Texas has no laws against predatory towing, you are not responsible for someone else's mistake!
Karen
Houston,Texas,
U.S.A.
File a towing complaint against Jet Wrecker
#5Consumer Suggestion
Wed, July 11, 2007
You have 14 business days after the tow to file a towing complaint downtown Houston. Pay $20 and they will give you a towing hearing. We were also towed by them in another lot that had illegal signage. Read the requirements, and take pictures of the lot, or provide your receipt from lunch (or both) as proof of illegal tow. They knew they would lose our case and didn't show up. Now we just have to try to collect, but we will go after them