My son lives in a condominium complex. I have been helping him do some renovations over the past several months. Since I live an hour and a half away and work during the week, we always work on weekends. Every unit has a garage for homeowners vehicles. There are a limited number of parking spaces within the complex that are reserved for homeowners or guests. These parking spaces require a permit, which is issued by the HOA. There was a problem with unauthorized cars parking in these spaces. Recently, the HOA contracted a tow company to tow unauthorized vehicles from the reserved spaces. The tow company volunteered to enforce fire lane violations, at no charge to the HOA. The HOA agreed, with one condition. They are not to tow vehicles unless they have been parked in a fire lane for at least 15 minutes. That way, you don't tow someone's car while they're unloading groceries and had no intention of leaving their vehicle in the fire lane. Today, I arrived at my son's condo at about noon. There were no parking spaces available. The nearest available parking was on the street, about 150 feet away. Since I needed to unload some tools, I parked in the fire lane, directly in front of his unit and turned on my hazard lights. We started carrying tools from the back of my truck upstairs to his unit. When I went into his condo, we heard a loud engine and banging metal. We rushed downstairs to find the tow truck moving at breakneck speed to position their lift under the front tires of my truck. As we approached, they raised the front tires off the ground. I tried to explain that I wasn't parking, I was unloading and had only been there for literally seconds. They just kept repeating that it was illegal to park in a fire lane and they were going to tow my truck. At this point, it got very heated and I must admit, I was very angry. Their demeanor was that of a common street hustler and I spoke to them accordingly. As we argued, one of the drivers stood near me at the front of my truck, which was lifted ridiculously high in the air, assumingly to prevent me from simply backing off their lift. The other driver stood at the drivers door, half in and half out. His left hand appeared to be behind the drivers seat and he never showed it. I assumed he was holding a weapon. After several minutes of arguing, they told me to call their dispatcher, who was in charge. I called the dispatcher, who was no better than the guys I was standing near. He just kept repeating that it was illegal to park in a fire lane and would jot listen to the details. Finally, I asked him what it would take to get my truck back on the ground. He said he would let his guys put it down if I paid them $90.00 cash. I wanted to throw the phone, hoping the sound of it shattering would somehow hurt him. But, I took a deep breathe and counted my money. I had exactly $80.00. When I told the dispatcher that, he said, looks like your truck is getting towed. At this point, my son said he would give me the missing $10.00. I was furious and couldn't believe this was happening, but it was clear they do this a lot and would not be reasoned with. So, I gave the driver the $90.00 and began to write a receipt. He then demanded my full name, home address, phone number and drivers license. Again, we argued. I finally gave him my name and let him see my drivers license. They dropped my truck and left. In my opinion, they were staged nearby, they watched me pull up, stop and begin unloading. As soon as we went inside, they raced up and lifted my truck, with the intent of extorting money. Turns out they have done this to several people, including a lady unloading groceries. Take a look at their Facebook and Yelp. Dozens of similar accounts. I am aware that it is illegal to park in a fire lane, even briefly. But this is a case of a dishonest business manipulating the law for profit. The name of the company is Mac Towing, in Pomona Ca.
Mac Towing Reviews
My son lives in a condominium complex. I have been helping him do some renovations over the past several months. Since I live an hour and a half away and work during the week, we always work on weekends. Every unit has a garage for homeowners vehicles. There are a limited number of parking spaces within the complex that are reserved for homeowners or guests. These parking spaces require a permit, which is issued by the HOA. There was a problem with unauthorized cars parking in these spaces. Recently, the HOA contracted a tow company to tow unauthorized vehicles from the reserved spaces. The tow company volunteered to enforce fire lane violations, at no charge to the HOA. The HOA agreed, with one condition. They are not to tow vehicles unless they have been parked in a fire lane for at least 15 minutes. That way, you don't tow someone's car while they're unloading groceries and had no intention of leaving their vehicle in the fire lane. Today, I arrived at my son's condo at about noon. There were no parking spaces available. The nearest available parking was on the street, about 150 feet away. Since I needed to unload some tools, I parked in the fire lane, directly in front of his unit and turned on my hazard lights. We started carrying tools from the back of my truck upstairs to his unit. When I went into his condo, we heard a loud engine and banging metal. We rushed downstairs to find the tow truck moving at breakneck speed to position their lift under the front tires of my truck. As we approached, they raised the front tires off the ground. I tried to explain that I wasn't parking, I was unloading and had only been there for literally seconds. They just kept repeating that it was illegal to park in a fire lane and they were going to tow my truck. At this point, it got very heated and I must admit, I was very angry. Their demeanor was that of a common street hustler and I spoke to them accordingly. As we argued, one of the drivers stood near me at the front of my truck, which was lifted ridiculously high in the air, assumingly to prevent me from simply backing off their lift. The other driver stood at the drivers door, half in and half out. His left hand appeared to be behind the drivers seat and he never showed it. I assumed he was holding a weapon. After several minutes of arguing, they told me to call their dispatcher, who was in charge. I called the dispatcher, who was no better than the guys I was standing near. He just kept repeating that it was illegal to park in a fire lane and would jot listen to the details. Finally, I asked him what it would take to get my truck back on the ground. He said he would let his guys put it down if I paid them $90.00 cash. I wanted to throw the phone, hoping the sound of it shattering would somehow hurt him. But, I took a deep breathe and counted my money. I had exactly $80.00. When I told the dispatcher that, he said, looks like your truck is getting towed. At this point, my son said he would give me the missing $10.00. I was furious and couldn't believe this was happening, but it was clear they do this a lot and would not be reasoned with. So, I gave the driver the $90.00 and began to write a receipt. He then demanded my full name, home address, phone number and drivers license. Again, we argued. I finally gave him my name and let him see my drivers license. They dropped my truck and left. In my opinion, they were staged nearby, they watched me pull up, stop and begin unloading. As soon as we went inside, they raced up and lifted my truck, with the intent of extorting money. Turns out they have done this to several people, including a lady unloading groceries. Take a look at their Facebook and Yelp. Dozens of similar accounts. I am aware that it is illegal to park in a fire lane, even briefly. But this is a case of a dishonest business manipulating the law for profit. The name of the company is Mac Towing, in Pomona Ca.