Car towed while shopping at ShopRite

Submitted by The-Main-Characterr t3_126wtcn in jerseycity

Hi, my car was towed while it was parked on Marin BLVD. The store manager said that they don't own the parking lot and refused to take any responsibility. I called the towing company, they said that the person in the towing vehicle saw me walking towards the mall not ShopRite. I was walking to Wells Fargo to get cash. I just paid $180 to release my car. I have a receipt proving that I was shopping at ShopRite at the moment my car was being towed. What should I do?

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GoHuskies1984 t1_jefxc0r wrote

It costs $35 or so to take the tow company to small claims court, if you consider it worth the time and effort for $180.

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pixel_of_moral_decay t1_jeg64jn wrote

You’re not winning this case.

OP admitted they went to an adjacent property, which is (while brief) a parking violation. Wells Fargo is a different lot with a different owner. The fence is there to make it clear (which is why they keep repairing it).

Rules on parking lots are they are for the property and businesses only unless explicitly posted.

That tow is the cost of trying to not park and move your car again.

Tow trucks also love to take photos or video now too, so odds are they’ll have that, and you’ll get a bill for the employee who showed up at small claims time. You agreed when getting the car out to pay all expenses related to legal actions etc.

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SoundMachineJC t1_jeg8g8z wrote

The signs in the lot have:

Parking is for the convenience of customers while shopping at:

(has drawings of Shop Rite, Pep Boys, Bed Bath Beyond, BJ’s logo’s)

Violators will be towed.

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pixel_of_moral_decay t1_jegd0j2 wrote

Which is all the same property. Hence redevelopment is of those properties only.

Wells Fargo is on a weird shaped lot that goes back to when that was a rail yard. It was some kind of scrap leftover.

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SoundMachineJC t1_jegs4l8 wrote

and they have the big official signs mentioned in the nj consumer affairs links below at the entrance by Shop Rite and on the BJ's building at that entrance. The towing company, rates, etc. Looks like it is Kings Towing.

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READTHEBOOKJC t1_jegdz2c wrote

I was towed out of the same lot in 2002 - it has not happened to me since then bc I don;t park there and fo somewhere else - they don't patrol the lot - they have it all on camera and some dickhead sits in the office and watches live - sucks it happened but that's the last time it will happen to you

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Direct_Ad18 t1_jeg5xlk wrote

I think you are probably wasting your time. They will just say (and the cameras will prove) that they saw you walking towards the mall and how are they supposed to know you were going to ShopRite after. Wells Fargo has it's own parking lot. Next time park at Wells Fargo when you are going to Wells Fargo, and park at ShopRite when you are going to ShopRite.

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Economy-Cupcake808 t1_jeg5bhu wrote

Sounds like there is a tow company around that area waiting for people to park in a store lot then not go to the store, then charging people 180$ to not tow their car. Can this be reported to ombudsman/city council/police? This is certainly unscrupulous business practices by the towing company. Did you get the name of the towing company by chance?

EDIT: I don’t often go to the shoprite but there has to be conspicuous signage if they want to enforce towing for shopping at other businesses. I don’t recall seeing any such signage when I was last there. If there is no signage I would be happy to help draft an email to city council and JCPD.

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Direct_Ad18 t1_jeg6d3a wrote

The property owner of the parking lot hires a tow company to make sure everyone parking in their lot is going to the stores the lot is supposed to serve. There are signs literally all over the parking lot that say if you're not shopping at BJs or ShopRite your car will be towed. The mall is next door and has paid parking. If they didn't do this, everyone driving to the mall would park in this free lot, especially teenagers that hang out there. How do I know? Because I was towed for doing the same exact thing. Unfortunate that OP made an innocent mistake, but I believe they will be wasting their time trying to fight this.

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Economy-Cupcake808 t1_jeg856u wrote

https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/News/Consumer%20Briefs/what-you-should-know-about-getting-towed.pdf

https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/Statutes/Predatory-Towing-Prevention-Act.pdf

NJ has strict laws that towing companies must abide by. Based on OP saying that ShopRite said they do not own the parking lot and combined with the other similar posts of this nature where OPs complain about this happening in the same area indicates to me that a towing company is “Trolling (cruising) for vehicles parked without authorization;” explicitly prohibited by law. Also, there are strict requirements for signage that are also outlined. I don’t know if Shboprite complies with them though. This seems like something that would be worth bringing to the attention of the city council. It sounds like a towing company is praying on residents.

I agree that fighting it in court is probably not worth 180 dollars but if we can get this towing company to stop doing this it would be a win for residents.

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Direct_Ad18 t1_jegbiz4 wrote

You are overcomplicating this. These laws you are citing don't apply if this is the tow company that the property owner has hired. Anyone who has lived in Jersey City for more than a week knows that you will get towed if you park illegally in this lot.

ShopRite doesn't own the parking lot. But their landlord does. And their landlord hires the tow company to patrol their private parking lot. They have every right to do this. There are literally signs all over this parking lot. If this was the tow company that the property owner hired then OP is SOL.

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Economy-Cupcake808 t1_jegbtgc wrote

Doesn’t address any of the other issues raised, I.E inadequate signage, charging above the maximum permitted decoupling fee, they could also still be cruising for cars. Not sure why you are going to bat for the tow company here.

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Direct_Ad18 t1_jegd4n5 wrote

I'm not going to bat for the tow company. But to think that the multi million dollar developer who owns this parking lot has a mistake in their tow signage is laughable. They have been having cars towed out of this parking lot for decades. I was towed out of it in 2008 or 2009. You clearly are not familiar with this area or this parking lot at all. As I said before, anyone who has lived in Jersey City more than a week knows that if you park illegally in this parking lot, you will get towed immediately.

I already said if it's not their tow company and it was a random tow company cruising then OP has a case. But it's more likely the multi million dollar developer who owns the lot has a tow company on standby 24/7 watching cameras.

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Economy-Cupcake808 t1_jegdkfj wrote

Also those laws are absolutely applicable to tow companies that tow off of private property. That’s the whole point of them. “The amended Act regulates tows from private property, and tows initiated by law enforcement, without the prior consent of the vehicle’s owner or operator.”

If this is something that has been going on for many years, then I will take your word for it, I almost never go to ShopRite or Target so I would not know. The recent uptick of posts like this on the Reddit made me think this is a recent and new issue. However, it doesn’t mean the tows aren’t illegal.

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Direct_Ad18 t1_jegfdql wrote

I completely agree that tow companies are shady and do illegal things. I have been towed twice in my life and both times I was swindled out of extra cash. One time because they "only took American Express" So I had to use their ATM which charged an insane fee and then they " didn't have change" So my option was to walk to a gas station like half a mile away or just give them an extra $15 bucks. I opted for the latter. The second time they just didn't take credit cards at all and they also "didn't have change" to give me.

But your case is based on two posters who got towed after they illegally parked. That is not a "recent uptick." That is two people who got towed after they illegally parked. I think to expose an illegal towing operation we have to start with cars that weren't supposed to be towed in the first place.

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mickyrow42 t1_jegbbev wrote

You f'd up. it's a lesson.

curious how long it took to get some cash. also why.

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