How Do I dispute NYC towing? (school, price, legal)

[Herrera]

My wife was parked on 5th ave between 20th and 21th street and received a ticket for an expired meter. So after putting her books in the car she realized she forgot something and went back to school. When she returned the car was gone. She went to get the car and they couldn't explain to her why the car was towed. She paid the $185 for the tow but, now i want to know how do i dispute it and get my money back?

Thanks in advance.

[vantastic10]

Originally Posted by Herrera

My wife was parked on 5th ave between 20th and 21th street and received a ticket for an expired meter. So after putting her books in the car she realized she forgot something and went back to school. When she returned the car was gone. She went to get the car and they couldn't explain to her why the car was towed. She paid the $185 for the tow but, now i want to know how do i dispute it and get my money back?

Thanks in advance.

I am surprised that they would tow just for being at an expired meter. I could understand if the car was parked at a fire hydrant or at a bus stop.

They saw her go inside the school and took advantage of the opportunity. I recently read in the paper where they have a quota on every shift for tow truck drivers(4 tows) and if they don't meet that quota they get punished with less OT and assigned undesirable shifts.

Around that area there is only metered parking on the east side of 5th ave, on the west side there are those red no standing signs. Now if the car was towed she had to be parked on either one of the corners otherwise to tow the car in between other parked cars would take a lot of time.

She obviously wasn't a scofflaw that had overdue tickets, that is the only other reason that they would tow. I know you can dispute a parking ticket but a towing fee I don't know about that. This is a lost cause and not worth fighting over it, just my opinion though. To get the towing fee waived and refunded they would have to first get the parking ticket dismissed which in this case of an expired meter is cut and dry.

[Chava61]

Originally Posted by vantastic10

I am surprised that they would tow just for being at an expired meter. I could understand if the car was parked at a fire hydrant or at a bus stop.

They saw her go inside the school and took advantage of the opportunity. I recently read in the paper where they have a quota on every shift for tow truck drivers(4 tows) and if they don't meet that quota they get punished with less OT and assigned undesirable shifts.

Around that area there is only metered parking on the east side of 5th ave, on the west side there are those red no standing signs. Now if the car was towed she had to be parked on either one of the corners otherwise to tow the car in between other parked cars would take a lot of time.

She obviously wasn't a scofflaw that had overdue tickets, that is the only other reason that they would tow. I know you can dispute a parking ticket but a towing fee I don't know about that. This is a lost cause and not worth fighting over it, just my opinion though. To get the towing fee waived and refunded they would have to first get the parking ticket dismissed which in this case of an expired meter is cut and dry.

I agree with the above assessment. Cars are usually towed if parked in a place that is either blocking something (like an intersection, crosswalk, hydrant) or a no parking (no standing) zone or if the owner has unpaid parking tickets. I think it is too much trouble to fight over and if you consult a lawyer, I think you will end up spending more money than just the price of the ticket & tow.

[Herrera]

Thank you for your replies. She was parked in a legal parking space (no intersection, crosswalk, hydrant) or a no parking (no standing) zone and doesn't have any unpaid parking tickets. This was an illegal tow and the woman at the towing yard even suggested to my wife to fight it because she couldn't see any reason for the towing either. So my question is how do i fight an illegal towing? It was $185 and we want our money back!!!

[newtoli]

I got towed for an expired meter a while ago. I almost never park on the street anymore because of it.

You're not going to get the money back. It's not an illegal tow if the meter was expired.