Towing at the VCU 7/11

Submitted by Allkin06 t3_122xsr0 in rva

This is a PSA for anyone who ever parks at the 7/11 parking lot next to the Village.

I've worked at Ipanema for the last 2 years and go to the 7/11 frequently for caffeine, snacks, etc. I have witnessed hundreds of cars getting towed. 90% of the time it is somebody grabbing a quick slice from Christians. They WILL tow your car in under 5 minutes, I have personally witnessed it and it has happened to one of my friends. They park right around the corner just waiting for somebody to do this. Normally I just give the tow truck drivers angry glares but not today....

Today I got into it with one of the drivers towing a handicap car. (presumably grabbing Christians). We got into a heated argument and I basically said "how do you sleep at night knowing your ruining peoples lives"...his reply was "its my passion"....what???? It's your passion to ruin people's days?? I have never seen more then 5 cars parked there at any given time, and surely somebody parking there for less then 5 minutes shouldn't cost them 200 dollars in fees over a slice of fucking pizza. Tow truck drivers are the most parasitic people in this city, right up there with landlords in my opinion. I know some people will have differing opinions on the matter and thats fine, but personally I think they are scumbags.

Tl;Dr- do not park there for anything other than 7/11. Don't go in there and buy something and walk to somewhere else thinking your exempt from being towed. These people are jackals and are there to make a profit.

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pecansforall t1_jdsm9qd wrote

Who parks in parking lots anymore? Just park in the middle of Harrison Street and turn on those hazard lights!

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garfobo t1_jdt7oyh wrote

Boo (as in expressing disappointment, not being spooky)

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SnooPets8811 t1_jdtsq7x wrote

Boooo (but being spooky and not expressing disappointment)

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CharlesJHV t1_jdt4y4e wrote

I think another important thing people need to know is that if you come out and you see the tow truck driver about to hitch your car, you can tell them to stop.

Tow truck drivers cannot tow a car if the owner is present and is able to move their car out of the spot (even if they’ve hitched it). Virginia law provides you that right

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garytabasco t1_jdtcja7 wrote

I’m not 100% but once hitched there is almost always like a $25 drop fee

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choicebutts t1_jdtejeh wrote

The 7-11 tow truck charges $200+ to drop the car and it's completely illegal.

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CharlesJHV t1_jdti75u wrote

This is the kind of stuff I’m talking about.

I’ve gotten lucky a number of times, once I got to my car right before it got hooked up in the lombardy Kroger parking lot, and the tow truck driver told me, “if I was 30 seconds late, it would’ve cost me $175 to get my car back”

Who knows what their bosses tell them, but a lot of these guys will convince you it’s too late

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FluxAnomaly t1_jdtk604 wrote

They can't tow a car with someone in it. So if they try to charge more jump in and call police.

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RufusDelgado t1_jdu1dat wrote

That's not true. Had a friend jump on a tow truck to get his bike out of the back seat while it was moving. Seiberts dont give a fuck.

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FluxAnomaly t1_jdvk4k3 wrote

It is true legally.

Also, you're not really describing the situation I was talking about. And your friend wasn't too smart for jumping on a moving vehicle. That driver was a dumbass if he didn't stop.

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RufusDelgado t1_je3gqsy wrote

As I said seiberts do what they want, legality doesn't matter.

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choicebutts t1_jdtwehc wrote

Tow truck drivers don't fuck around, they know all the tricks, and they're armed.

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Schmergenheimer t1_jdtdptr wrote

In the city of Richmond, it's no more than $40 per ordinance. They're allowed to charge you that much but no more.

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BureauOfBureaucrats t1_jdskm8g wrote

Outside of companies that are exclusively roadside assistance, there is no such thing as an ethical towing company. They’re all scum and opportunists.

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katebandit t1_jdsw3k6 wrote

Was going to say this same thing. Unless they’re only doing roadside/called in work, they’re predatory.

My dad has a tow company and refuses to get into complexes and fixed property towing for this very reason.

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Mad-Lad-of-RVA t1_jdtzsru wrote

I'm splitting hairs here, but there are auto body shops with tow trucks that don't exclusively do roadside assistance and that aren't necessarily unethical.

But yeah, I worked in emergency road service for a very well-known insurer, and even the emergency road service providers are usually unethical assholes. Most were assholes on the phone, would nickel and dime everyone they could for anything they could (and some things they couldn't), wouldn't stick to their ETAs, would drop cars in wrong places, etc.

I still would trust those emergency road service companies over predatory towing companies like Siebert's Towing, or like whatever company it is that OP mentioned.

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shaken-then-stirred t1_jdv4jhb wrote

You ain’t ever needed someone towed off of your property or out of your driveway have you?

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BureauOfBureaucrats t1_jdv9pq1 wrote

And that’s a service that could be deployed without corruption and graft, but here we are. To answer your question, yes I have needed to call a tow for that purpose.

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FireSalsa t1_jdt2wrg wrote

Lmao I’ve been towed from there for that exact reason. Parked at 7/11 went and ordered Christian’s. Happened to look out the front window of Christian while I was waiting, daydreaming of the delicious pizza I would soon enjoy. I then saw a beautiful big white tow truck with my shitty ass car strapped on the back pass on by lol. I wasn’t gone longer than 5 minutes.

I had a whole party at my place waiting on me to get back with the pizza but little did they know I was on one of life’s great spontaneous adventures of finding the tow yard.

Ahh good times.

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HereComesTreble1645 t1_jdudbyb wrote

Oh, and if you do happen to find the yard, they are open from 10a to 1p every other Tuesday, and they charge you a daily rate even when you can't physically retrieve your car due to their business hours.

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DancyElephant12 t1_jdt2yrg wrote

If he was from Siebert’s, I promise you he wasn’t joking about it being his passion. I know they get a lot of shit, but those people are genuinely terrible and truly revel in fucking up people’s days with their city contract/evil, predatory cash cow monopoly.

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wutangitbitch t1_jdt8hk0 wrote

one time i got towed from a parking lot that i had a pass for, when i got there and showed them it in my car they still made me pay it

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DancyElephant12 t1_jdtbltu wrote

In my latest of many experiences with them, I inexplicably got towed from in front of my apartment, a spot where someone is literally parked almost every second of every day. I ended up being very late for work (I work nights), so I couldn’t get my car until the next morning. Not only did they immediately brush me off and say they didn’t care about why my car was towed, I was 7 minutes past the cut off time that nobody told me about and I was charged for two days of storage, despite my car being there for a total of 16 hours.

I’m currently awaiting my court date for that one.

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Necromancy- t1_jdx9hbx wrote

??? And you paid it? I would’ve called Joel Bieber or something. 877-CASH-NOW!

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RVAGuywithNoID t1_jdsav8w wrote

Maybe Christian's should pay the owner of 7-11 for the use of a couple of the spots if so many of their customers are parking there?

Tow truck drivers are parasites sure and I'm certainly not defending them but the signs in that lot are very clear. They're for 7-11 customers only. Not Christian's. If you're parking there to go anywhere else, you're FA and FO.

If all the spots are full from customers going elsewhere and someone pulls in to go to 7-11 and can't find a spot, 7-11 just lost a sale and that's not fair to them when they own the lot for their customers.

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Allkin06 OP t1_jdsbqii wrote

Oh for sure, there are several signs. Typically those signs are meant to discourage prolonged parking in my personal experience. If you're there for a long time (let's say a long time is 10 minutes) I totally get it, you're congesting the lot and it becomes a problem. It's the way they go about it, with the tow truck driver just sitting there for hours parked around the corner just waiting for unsuspecting victims. It really rubs me the wrong way.

It would be nice if Christians had some parking spots though I do agree with you there!

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RulerOfTheRest t1_jdsd2m0 wrote

Years ago, the 7-Eleven were more lenient with folks parking there for short periods to hit one of the other establishments, they even had a couple of spots where servers at the Village could park. But it started getting abused, the parking lot was always full with folks not going into the 7-Eleven, and that's when they introduced the zero-tolerance policy. I think the abuse escalated when VCU turned the parking lot across the street into dorms. As for the handicap patron, there is a reserved spot for HC placards in front of the Village, and I believe a couple more along Grace not far from Christian's...

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Allkin06 OP t1_jdseoe5 wrote

I didn't know that! I've only worked in the fan for the last couple years and I have personally never seen it full.

Regardless of the other HC spots it still seemed slimy to me.

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blackmamba1221 t1_jdt9jcn wrote

don't illegally park and you won't get towed. This is the most ridiculous post I've seen lately. wtf. If a neighborhood business doesn't have enough spots, that's not 7/11s fault.

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I_Got_A_Truck t1_jdsh6b8 wrote

If there are signs and people are parking there anyway to go to a different business, it’s the tow company’s job to tow them. If anyone is being the parasite in this case, it is the person knowingly parking in the spots designated for 711’s customers.

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Allkin06 OP t1_jdsdak5 wrote

Im replying to your additional comment.

It's literally half full at any given time. Let's say a customer runs into Christians for 5 minutes to get food, then the tow truck driver comes and takes up three spots just towing the car....you could argue they are actually making it worse taking up multiple spots to tow the car. Maybe a compromise from the tow company would be a small grace period at the very least... but that wouldn't make them money, and we all know that's what it's all about.

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RVAGuywithNoID t1_jdsgc7q wrote

How do you know it's never full? Are you literally watching it 24/7? Not saying you're wrong but there could be times when it is full (like lunch/dinner hour) and you just never see it.

I don't agree with a grace period. The signs are clear. Parking is for customers of 7-11 only. If they give an inch assholes will take a mile and ruin it for others. They have to be consistent. If the parking really is what you say it is though, all the more reason why Christian's could pay for the use of a few spots.

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torvaman t1_jdsxujn wrote

i live on the corner of w grace and ryland. there is NEVER more than 1-2 cars in the 7/11 parking lot and they have 13 spaces

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Allkin06 OP t1_jdsgvy7 wrote

I work 10 hour days and go there pretty often, at random intervals throughout the day...but no I don't monitor it 24 hours a day haha. It's just what I've personally seen.

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shalomfromus t1_jdsl7fb wrote

Or, OR, just hear me out here: people could just follow the rules posted on the signs. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Sure, it sucks. But there’s no amount of time that is appropriate to park there if you’re not going in to 7/11. If you park there and don’t go into 7/11, why is that anybody else’s fault?

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lukebwalls t1_jdtrojw wrote

Honestly, and I swear I’m not trying to be reductive, because the rules are bullshit. There’s no way ANYONE is legitimately inconvenienced by someone spending 15 extra minutes parked to grab a pickup order. No one is sitting here arguing you should be able to park your car there like it’s a private lot for as long as you please, but it’s just petty bullshit and money grabbing evil to tow someone for that short of a stop. Are you telling me you truly want everyone to pull out of 7-11, turn around, find parking again, to only be back out of the car for 10 minutes?

It may not seem a lot of money to you or some people, but being stranded without your car and having to scrape together 200 dollars to get it back is absolutely debilitating for some people, and to do it over something so absolutely trivial is nothing short of disgusting.

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richmondtrash t1_jdtvn2s wrote

Try living behind a restaurant where people park in the fire lane, blocking the exit of your neighborhood, even though there are six open parking spaces in the back of the restaurant but they can’t be bothered to walk an extra 30 seconds for a “15 minute pick up”. And then tell me there’s no way this can be an inconvenience to people

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lukebwalls t1_jdtw81n wrote

100% agree with you on that situation, but not comparable. Totally against people blocking transit ways, parking spot is not that.

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I_Got_A_Truck t1_jdtuhpu wrote

Just because the rules are bullshit doesn't mean anyone has any justification in ignoring them. The rules and the consequences for breaking them are plainly stated.

The people parking there are knowingly gambling their transportation and money. These people trying to blame ANYONE else is what is disgusting.

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lukebwalls t1_jdtupqc wrote

So I’m assuming you never drive a single mph over the speed limit and always turn your signal on 400ft before you make your turn? Or can we agree that there’s absolutely discretion on rules/laws this trivial?

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I_Got_A_Truck t1_jdtuwih wrote

No, the difference is that I'm not gonna cry if I get caught.

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lukebwalls t1_jdtv38n wrote

I’m glad you’re in that comfortable of a position, same can’t be said for everyone.

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winstunnah t1_jdwpan7 wrote

A person doing their job is not petty. Parking somewhere you know you aren't supposed to for your sole convenience and then getting upset when consequences happen is petty and also the highest tier of self-entitlement.

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choicebutts t1_jdte7uw wrote

It's against the law to charge that much. If you get towed by them videotape it and go to Richmond Police. I read recently that the police are trying to go after them but they need people to report it.

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Gorz0th t1_jdt13o6 wrote

>do not park there for anything other than 7/11.

I mean, that is who owns the lot.

This is like saying "don't break into someone else's kitchen and make a sandwich", it kinda goes without saying.

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shalomfromus t1_jdty8bj wrote

Fuck it. Sign or no sign, I’m gonna find you and break into your kitchen and make a sandwich. And it’ll be delicious.

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Remerez t1_jdtgcdh wrote

That whole area is some of the worst parking I have ever seen and it's all so vcu can force students to buy their parking pass. It's a grift.

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We3dmanreturns t1_jdshlir wrote

Gotta be a spotter watching the lot if they’re coming that quick, in some states and cities spotters are illegal but I’m too lazy to figure out if that’s the case in VA.

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choicebutts t1_jdteuos wrote

The guys inside the 7-11 call and they come pronto.

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cameronmc3 t1_jdu1uml wrote

To be honest here, the owner of the property unfortunately has every imaginable right to remove your metal box from their dumbass parking lot. Tow truck drivers suck, only when they tow your car though. I don’t know of any widespread evil phenomenon that occurs in the car-towing industry, however I don’t know much about the industry in general.

I do know that my car *almost got towed when I parked my car in a private gravel parking lot after a night out. I was DD. When we returned to my car, sure enough, my car was meeting its fate of being hauled away behind a $180 paywall. Thankfully, I guess because of Virginia towing laws (which I heard about in this thread) he dropped it for $30, and i was able to take my friends home safely. I really hope to live in a future Richmond that maybe has better public transit, and walkable areas that make situations like this mostly disappear. I should not have to own and pay for and maintain an expensive ass automobile, and I can’t wait to move so I can sell my car and not worry about being a part-time caretaker 24/7.

Issues with car dependency are everywhere unfortunately, and it makes me upset to see it cause so much damage

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squidsauce t1_jduyzz5 wrote

Hey there - older veteran richmonder here…yeah that sucks but you’re never going to win - don’t park anywhere for a “second”. Christians ain’t worth a trip to south side plaza. This is the way of the tow truck driver, you’ll only waste your energy yelling.

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Ear_Enthusiast t1_jdt4rcv wrote

So people parking in that parking lot and patronizing other businesses is a major problem for 7-11 so they hired the tow truck service. If they let just anyone park there none of their customers would have anywhere to park. Also I know there are several signs. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

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wermodaz t1_jdv5gb6 wrote

They hooked up my car when I was in that 711 buying something. I showed my receipt, got the cashier to confirm, still would not drop my car if I didn't hand over $100. Called the store manager the next day and got a "it is what it is" response. This was about 10 years ago, before I knew what they were doing was illegal.

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brimpol t1_jdwu4rc wrote

Wow should have called the cops on that tower. 20/20 hindsight is a bitch though. Sorry that happened to you.

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BabyBat07 t1_jdsup7b wrote

This is extremely true. Years ago I was picking up an order from the Village and there was a VCU game so there was no parking anywhere, so I parked at the 7-11, since I was only gonna be going in and out. I was in there for maybe 5 minutes and by the time I got out my car was gone.

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winstunnah t1_jdvbqyk wrote

Person wants to go to Christians to get pizza. No parking around. Decides to weigh the risk of parking in 7-11 knowing they could get towed. Decided to take the risk anyways. Did not avoid risk. Towed.

I understand the tow truck driver is an asshole and predatory, but that part doesn't even matter, all of his asshole-ness and bullshit can be avoided pretty easily if you just don't take the risk. Once you take that risk, the fault is all your own.

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hissing_mosquito t1_jdw3bhf wrote

B-b-b-b-ut I didn’t want to walk an extra block to get my pizza!!!! 😭🍼

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mybeamishb0y t1_jdt8plu wrote

crappy passion. He should try art.

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scoobiemario t1_jdt359v wrote

Dang. Ive parked there many times and gone to grab Christians myself.

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sleepforevr t1_jdsvsn8 wrote

ohhhh shieeeet, i just did this recently to get chinese food across the street :c thanks for the heads up. and ty for going off on them too, fuck towing companies!!!

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scoobiemario t1_jdt3kiq wrote

So what if I park there. Go to 7-11 grab a whatever. And then go to Christians get pizza? Would they tow?

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RulerOfTheRest t1_jdtgps6 wrote

You would get towed because you left the premises. A few years ago I took a Polisci class and had to brief some cases and selected a few with this exact scenario where the car owners sued for having their cars towed even though they bought something from the establishment that owned the parking lot before or after walking to a place nearby. They all lost their cases.

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FluxAnomaly t1_jdtlnef wrote

I kinda want to set the tow trucks up to waste their time by having someone hiding in the car.

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AboutARainbow t1_jdv4sgl wrote

I used to live across the street from Christians and would also see the towing mania happening there lol

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Charlesinrichmond t1_jdvgov1 wrote

why on god's green earth do people think no parking signs are advisory?

Owning a car isn't magic. It doesn't give you the right to park wherever you want. And if you park in a tow zone at a private business, anywhere in the country I've lived, you can expect that business to have you towed ASAP.

the entitlement is just nuts

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RICDrew t1_jdvi46b wrote

I once parked in a designated spot behind the old Avalon in the Fan. Was on the grass (that wasn’t being used for any reason and served no purpose) like a half foot and was still towed.

Never went back there again and I do my best to make any tow truck drivers life a living hell. Sorry- you want to be petty over a technicality? I’ll be fucking petty in return. As luck would have it, as I was calling the tow company for info on where to retrieve my vehicle from, turns out the driver dropped his phone. LOADED WITH all kinds of contacts and pertinent business info.

What a shame that the phone went missing. 😂I didn’t take it, but I know where one of my friends threw it. It cost me $125, but I know that dude paid a much steeper price. To this day, it warms my petty little heart ❤️

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Gh0stIcon t1_jdvql7u wrote

Bruh... can you Xpost this to /r/thathappened ?

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RICDrew t1_jdwbwp0 wrote

No- because that subreddit is full of fake BS. This actually happened…And no, I don’t give a shit about the driver or his carelessness that led to him losing his phone. Karma’s a bitch and he certainly got what was coming to him!

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brimpol t1_jdwum0i wrote

Good for you dude. Good for you. That was super cathartic to read, thank you.

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ChunkyFart t1_jdvz2jp wrote

My bike was stolen from that 7-11 while I was buying a pack of cigs

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sleevieb t1_jdt0o1b wrote

Tow Track wars coming to town is another sympton of "NOVAing my RVA".

See Advance Towing vs Attorney General, losing, and paying $750 in fees.

https://www.arlnow.com/2021/11/10/just-in-advanced-towing-ordered-to-pay-only-750-in-attorney-generals-lawsuit/

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skulloctopus2023 t1_jdt5qhs wrote

Dude tow truck companies have been a problem here in RVA for a very long time.

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m0arpepper t1_jdtdguk wrote

This has been going on since my VCU days in they 2000s

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sleevieb t1_jdte29y wrote

My dad talks about losing VW bug for weeks a time in the fan only to have a friend tell him he saw his car at the tow lot when they got theirs.

He would just buy another bug instead of pay the fees lol

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Plusqueca t1_jdtfvat wrote

OP there’s so many people who are like “just follow the rules!!” but don’t let them make you feel bad. It’s dumb for a car to get towed for parking somewhere for 5 minutes. Predatory towing companies are really terrible and SO expensive. The fact that towing companies charge $200+ is a total racket. And it’s a racket that hurts poor people way way more than anyone else which is bullshit.

And all the people who say “jUsT foLLoW tHE RuLeS” are boring af

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Allkin06 OP t1_jdtpn7x wrote

Dude that's what I'm saying, thanks for saying that. I just stopped replying to all the towing company simps after getting down voted for expressing my opinion lol

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SorryDuplex t1_jdxl5k4 wrote

Also the people working at that 7/11 are rude af. I’ve bought homeless people meals from there on multiple occasions. I even had a homeless woman in my car that got out of my car and walked in with me. We are both treated as if we have leprosy or something. All the employees there are vile disgusting human beings.

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lonytynch t1_jdv76pj wrote

Has anyone suggested buying something from 711 first before running your errand?

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Maleficent-Bend-378 t1_jdw0skw wrote

You should be mad at the businesses like Christians that don’t provide parking for customers. Not the drivers doing a job

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hissing_mosquito t1_jdw307s wrote

Please tell me how they would be able to provide parking. It’s literally impossible.

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Maleficent-Bend-378 t1_jdw3apu wrote

The business either needs to make provisions for customers to park (by leasing spots) or the city shouldn’t granting business permits.

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hissing_mosquito t1_jdw3o57 wrote

Where would these magical spots materialize? THERE ARE NO SPOTS TO USE. And the city doesn’t grant street parking to businesses.

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Maleficent-Bend-378 t1_jdw3sk1 wrote

Do you have brain cells? How about from the 7-11 apparently all their customers are all parking at anyway?!

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hissing_mosquito t1_jdw40oz wrote

Do YOU have brain cells? 7-11 isn’t going to do that.

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Maleficent-Bend-378 t1_jdw46c3 wrote

Sure they will, if they get paid more from leasing spots than they do from towing cars.

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hissing_mosquito t1_jdw4d1m wrote

Hahahahahaha someone doesn’t know how restaurant margins work. How about people walk an extra block to or two to get their pizza.

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PhuncleSam t1_jdsxchi wrote

Ride a bike or walk 🤷‍♂️

−6

jason375 t1_jdtbmhf wrote

If your life is ruined by your car getting towed then you need to reevaluate your life choices. The problem is easily avoidable, funny when it happens and I’m tired of people pretending like it’s not.

−10

Remerez t1_jdtfyef wrote

You clearly are not low income or a struggling college student.

I sold everything I owned to go to college. If my car was towed I would have been fucked for a very long time.

But you don't care do you. Shit I bet you are the type of person that enjoys watching others suffer.

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cameronmc3 t1_jdu0mbk wrote

Why must you own a car in college?

0

Remerez t1_jdul2i0 wrote

Because I didn't have rich parents and had to work during school to afford rent and food. Getting my car towed meant I couldn't get to work.

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jason375 t1_jdtg6h6 wrote

I am both of those things, I just never fell into the debt trap of owning a car

And yes I do like watching people suffer.

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Remerez t1_jdtggnt wrote

Oh so your story is the example of what everyone should do.

Hell I bet you think your shit doesn't stink either.

Debt trap of owning a car? You must be very young. The walking score of richmond is dog shit. You need a car if you want to have a job or do literally anything here. The alternative is wait for the bus which is only frequent in vcu area.

You need to understand that siding with a company over the people is never a smart move.

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jason375 t1_jdthtxu wrote

A. Yes

B. About as much as anyone else’s

C. I am young and the walk score around grace street is well into the 90’s. I’ve never had to have a car to work in Richmond. The bus system isn’t good, talk to grtc about it.

D. I’m not siding with any company, I just like to see people get towed

−3

Remerez t1_jdtlnqq wrote

You enjoy watching the suffering of others? Fuck you're gonna make a great politician some day.

6