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Viral Predatory Towing Story Quickly Finds SympathizersWitnesses say towing company installed “No Parking” sign after driver was already parkedANCHORAGE - Melissa Wolf’s story hit Facebook over the weekend. After a friend posted about her car getting towed downtown on Saturday, March 9, Wolf said the post “kinda went viral amongst my friends.” But that same post connected her to witnesses who are now speaking up against what Wolf called “predatory towing.” Just before 10 p.m. on Saturday, Wolf and her friend parked her black Jeep Liberty in the alley just next to the Brown Bag Sandwich Shop near 4th and D Street. Wolf said there were no signs saying she couldn't park in the alley, but when she came back around midnight, things had changed. “I actually saw my car getting pulled from the spot,” Wolf said Tuesday. “I went over to the driver and said, ‘That's my car, can I have it?’ and he said, ‘Nope, it's too late.’” Wolf said the tow truck was with Anchorage Towing, and as she tried to get her car back, she noticed a passenger “holding the red ‘No Parking’ signs… in his lap,” she said. “He had several of them in the back of his tow.” That’s when she noticed the “No Parking” sign above her Jeep, a sign she knew hadn’t been there before. The owner of Anchorage Towing declined to be interviewed Tuesday, but said that an employee at the Brown Bag had requested the car be moved. The owners of the Brown Bag said Tuesday that they have never asked for a tow, and that no signs have ever been in the alley. The owners filed a report with Anchorage police, and, after officers took photographs of the scene, the owners removed the sign themselves. Wolf said the tow driver wanted $400, and without the cash on hand—she claimed her purse was locked in the car—the vehicle went to the impound lot. She and her friend were left downtown, at midnight, with no ride home. She had to recover the vehicle the next day. But then witnesses started coming forward. “When I came out of the Brown Bag [on Saturday night], a woman on the third floor had her window open and shouted down to me and said she had watched them install the sign with bolts, and then take a picture of my car,” Wolf said. Once her story went up online, more witnesses reached out to her with the full story. “We saw the Anchorage Towing Company hang a sign in place, and then tow the vehicle, so they put the boot on and everything, then hung a sign, took a picture of the sign, and then towed the car,” another witness to the event said. Wanting to only be identified by her first name, “Melissa” didn’t know Wolf before the incident. But what she saw spurred her to reach out through Craigslist. “I did post an ad on Craigslist, to try to get in touch with the owner of the vehicle and let her know that I did see what happened, and that the sign was not there,” Melissa said. Wolf’s friend’s post on Facebook eventually connected Melissa and Wolf, who have exchanged information and contacted additional witnesses. As to why she reached out, Melissa said, “It's just so wrong the way [the tow companies] go about it! It's not like she saw the sign and made a conscious choice to park there anyway: There was no sign; they posted a sign, and then towed her, and then charged her for it.” “That's stealing,” Melissa said. In the end, Wolf had to pay to get her car back. But she said the social media momentum is pushing her to seek recompense. “I plan to go to small claims court,” Wolf said. “It’s not good for the city to have people breaking the law… [and] I don't have $400 to just donate to a business,” she said. “I feel that other people have had this happen to them, I'd say dozens,” she said. “And if you feel like someone broke the law, you should not take it.” |
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Julie Renfrow said on Tuesday, Mar 12 at 7:43 PM
I had a friend house sit for me and had his truck towed from the parking lot in my condos. He also had to pay $400.00 and felt he had no recourse even though he was parked totally legally. This is not fair, at all. Good luck Melissa.
115822702Driver said on Tuesday, Mar 12 at 8:06 PM
Funny that Anchorage Towing (907Towing.com) removed their facebook page!
115824041Joe Riordan said on Tuesday, Mar 12 at 8:06 PM
I had a very similar thing happen to me downtown and the problem is ANCHORAGE TOWING!!! They are towing illegally in numerous ways and getting away with it. I told them they were towing illegally and they defiantly said "ok sue us" knowing few do because of the huge inconvenience it causes. I reported the activity to APD but they declined to enforce illegal towing!!! I am so outraged that APD won't stop ANCHORGE TOWING to extort huge sums of money from honest citizens by not enforcing the law! Brown Bag had nothing to do with the situation and in fact had been towed illegally as well and I firmly believe that the problem lies with ANCHORAGE TOWING. I also advised the MOA to revoke Anch. Towing's license but again no action. Your article lacked clarity but I do appreciate that your article brings attention to the issue of illegal towing that APD and the MOA are ignoring and they just don't get it.
115824051willliam shake said on Tuesday, Mar 12 at 11:59 PM
leave the towing to the professionals, just because you have wrecker doesn't mean you know what you are doing
115832546guest said on Wednesday, Mar 13 at 10:12 AM
Vehicles shud not be aloud in Anchorage.
115889846guest said on Monday, Mar 18 at 3:24 AM
I guess that explains why for normal towing they are the cheapest in town, they more than make up for it by stealing cars and holding them for ransom.
116323081Tow truck driver said on Wednesday, Mar 20 at 2:59 PM
That's why at Riggs Towing we require a signed contract with the property owner and we require our signs be posted for more than 24 hrs before we even touch a vehicle. I bet you if you go look at some of the properties we impound from we have more signs posted than most company's do. Most of the well established larger company's agree that there are some companies that should be looked in too and Anchorage Towing is one of them.
116558762Speedytow said on Tuesday, May 28 at 3:26 AM
You need to take a serious look at what kind of law allows tow truck operators to just roam parking lots and alleys looking for cars. The towing company must have an authority, either a blanket one to "manage" the property in terms of parking, or a specific complaint from a property owner. The law seems to consider these tows as private contracts on private property. It is almost impossible to get a theft charge laid, even if your car was stolen like Melisa's. This is a three way deal. When you go to court Melisa > find out for certain who owns the property where you were parked .... and sue the property owner and the tow company together. This way the judge will know for sure if the tow company had a valid authority and the towing company can't do an "end run" around you. Either they acted on the property owners authority or on their own. Sue them both so you don't get the slip!
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