Getting towed as a result of your own negligence is bad enough, but tow truck companies baiting you into illegally parking, then swiping your car? That’s road rage fuel. This is a real thing allegedly happening in South Philadelphia, and it has citizens asking for answers.
The gist of the scam involves possible bait trucks belonging to the tow company and purposely hidden signs. The tow company first parks the bait car in front of an illegal spot, then lays down the sign that would alert drivers to the fact that the spot in question is in a tow away zone. Once the driver exits the car, the tow company removes the bait truck to make room for the tow, lifts the sign, then places the bait truck and sign back in place for the next unlucky victim.
It’s not clear how long the scam has been going on at this particular spot in Philly, and it’s only coming to citizens attention because one man got the entire scam — hook, line, and sinker — on video numerous times.
“There were other cars parked there. There was no sign in the lot — well, it was knocked down, as the picture shows. There was no indication that where I was parking was illegal,” Otto said. “This just strikes me as very dishonest.”
Chris Norman — the man that made the videos — shared them with the local news, then posted them to his Facebook. He says he has witnessed the shady maneuvers in the same location numerous times.
“Same spot. All day long. The sign lays down. Somebody pulls up and parks, suddenly the sign is back up again. The car gets towed, the sign goes down again and it happens over and over again,” Norman said.
Citizens in the neighborhood made complaints against the tow truck company in question with the attorney general’s Consumer Protection Division. The BBB tells Action News the towing company had four complaints this year and 23 last year — 21 of which went unanswered.
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(Via 6 ABC Action News)