PASADENA, Texas – If you’ve ever left a store or business only to discover your car has been towed, you know the sinking feeling. It’s gonna cost you money and time to get it back. One woman called our Investigates team after a wrecker towed her vehicle from a Pasadena apartment complex where she said she was parked in a legal spot. We are looking into the case and what we learned could help you if you are ever in the same situation.
Nurse says she was wrongly towed from Pasadena apartment complex
We get these calls a lot. When you are parked on someone else’s private property, that property owner can give tow companies permission to tow your vehicle for any number of reasons. The business is required to post signs and notices to let you know what is and is not allowed.
“Most of the nurses drive a couple of hundred miles a week,” said nurse Laura LaBry.
Sporting her personalized RN license plates, hospice nurse Laura LaBry is always on the road.
When she drove to visit a patient at the Eden Rock apartments in Pasadena, another nurse met her outside.
“She said when the nurses come to meet her they park in the patient’s parking spot,” said LaBry.
LaBry parked and went inside, but less than 30 minutes later, she watched from a window as her car was towed.
“What really made me mad is I saw the car being towed. So I ran outside and hollered at the guy and he basically floored it when he saw me,” she explained.
She marched up to the front office to talk to the manager.
“I said, ‘Did you tow my car? We are here every day taking care of that person,’” said LaBry. “‘No, I didn’t call for it but we do have a contract with a towing company.’ I felt like things were not right.”
When KPRC 2 called the apartment complex, the manager said there are signs that make it very clear every vehicle must have a permit. She said other nurses visiting to see residents check in at the office for instructions on where to park.
This apartment complex, like most, has a contract with a wrecker service. In this instance, the contract gives Ranger Towing permission to tow any vehicle on this property without a permit.
What to do if you believe you were wrongly towed
- File for a tow hearing in the Justice of the Peace Court. You have to do it within 14 days of the tow.
- Take pictures of where your vehicle was parked and photos of the signs and what they say. If there are no signs, you want to document that as well.
- As soon as you file the paperwork for a tow hearing, you should also file a complaint with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. An investigator will review your case and assess a penalty to the tow company if it is found that you were towed illegally.
TDLR investigators did check out the signs at the Eden Rock Apartments after LaBry complained. But they found the signs and the tow to be in compliance.