It appears there’s a towing scheme going on at Broad and Washington in South Philly. Chris Norman uploaded a video to Facebook showing a Mercedes parked between two trucks in front of a vacant lot where a no parking sign is not apparent. One of the trucks pulls away and a tow truck comes in to tow the Mercedes. Minutes later, the pickup truck returns to the same spot. Norman says it’s been happening for months, and police say they are investigating.
But surely this can’t be the only instance of seemingly inappropriate activity from tow operators in Philadelphia. Horror stories about tows in this city are plenty common. And now, we want to hear yours.
We’ll start! I got home from work one day just a few weeks after I’d moved to Philadelphia, and saw a horrific sight: My car was in the process of being towed; honestly, I don’t recall the name of the towing company. I ran up to the man operating the truck and breathlessly said to him, “Please don’t take my car! I’m new here!” He responded without missing a beat: “I’d be happy to take your car off the truck and give it back to you for $150 in cash. Or you can get a ride to the impound later and pay $200. Your choice.”
I told him I’d run to the nearest ATM. “Can I have a receipt?” I asked when I got back. “Um,” he said, “no.” Shady.
Now we want to know: Did your car get unfairly towed? Did a tow operator mistreat you? Tell us all about it in the form below:
