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08-29-2010, 04:53 AM #1
TOWING ZONE SCAM
Well, I have a question about the nation wide Towing Zone Scam, and I could use constructive feedback.
My Air Force son, now being stationed in Portugal, drove my old van (he just transfered title to me) to a farewell dinner with an AF buddy, at Cheddar's Casual Cafe. Cheddars was crowded as usual, and he parked the van behind Cheddars in the old ALLTEL parking lot (Alltel retail closed this operation) where there is a "Towing Zone" sign still standing to guard the lot, and A*****, the local towing service driver lurks in the area waiting for a 'pigeon' to fly into his trap.
As soon as my son and his buddy were inside Cheddars (9:30pm Friday night) Albert called B***** over at NNPD and registers a complaint from the Property Agent at ALLTEL that a tow has been called.
Well, my son calls at 11:30p to tell me the good news after wandering around trying to figure out who stole his locked van. By 2am this morning, We had paid the $120 towing charge for parking in a posted lot of a non operational business behind a busy Newport News Restaurant.
Folks, this is out and out extortion. The NNPD is an unwitting accomplice in this criminal extortion scam.
Had that been me that had my car towed, I would have been stranded in the middle of the night with no way to get to my car and pay the extortion charge. I would have had to pay cab fair, and extra storage charges IF I COULD afford to pay them, or I would loose my transportation. I am on a fixed Soc.Security. This unsolicited 'towing service' activity is criminal in its nature.
Folks, I understand that Towing services are important for the normal flow of business when parked vehicles are interfering with patrons, or are abandoned on private or public property. BUT there is a line between improper use of private or public parking areas, and criminal extortion by towing services. Remember, NO ONE called the towing company, because NO ONE CARED if a Cheddar's patron was using the unused space for an hour or two. NNPD Officer B***** should be trained to verify that an ACTUAL REQUEST was made for a tow, and not just routinely assume that a request was made at 9:30 Friday night.
I am filing a formal complaint with the Department of Transportation, Board of Towing and Recovery Operators. They are trying to crack down and eliminate these PREDATORY practices by individuals in the industry.
I need two items and some information before I send in my complaint, and I would appreciate any useful comments on how to obtain the information I need.
1. I need to know how to get a copy of the NNPD Tow Service log (from B***** and crew) so I can identify some Tow Zone Traps in the area that is frequented by A***** and his friends.
2. I need to get a copy of the Contract for towing between A******'s Company and ALLTEL to see if the unrequested call for towing is in the contract.
3. I need to review Virginia law to see if the TOW TRAPS and unrequested towing services are in any way legal. So far, in my readings, they all state, or assume that an owner or property manager has personally requested the towing service.
I will be making calls this week to the various agencies I can manage to contact, but I could use any insights you are willing to share. I will be posting my progress. It is my hope that my exposure of my experience with this corrupt practice can make police more aware of these 'thefts' when they are occurring around town. Many people are being abused by this practice. If my basic understanding of the situation is correct, my efforts will be instrumental in having A*****'s license revoked, and that of others that show a pattern in the NNPD towing service logs.
I noticed that NN Police does not frequent this LEOAFFAIRS sight. Hopefully if you have an NNPD officer as a friend, you will invite him into the discussion.
Now to a more personal note:
While driving back from picking up the van (north or Ft. Eustis), I made a lane change (well, actually 4 lanes) with out a turn signal (I was trying to direct my son from Warick to Jefferson by way of Denbigh so we could visit the scene of the crime). I know the basics of Newport News roads, but can not see the street names well in the dark until I am very close). Well, one of your finest (the place is crawling with cops at 2am Saturday morning) had the nerve to pull me over because of the faulty lane change (actually, I believe he thought I was drinking). After doing about 10 minutes of some of my finest song and dance routines, he and several visiting officers let me go with a warning. Thank you for doing your job officer, and thank you for realizing that I'm just your average screwed up driver, and not a drinker.
I have found that the best way to tell an average good town from a dirty corrupt town is the way traffic cops treat you. I screw up all the time with (usually) carefully done STUPID driving errors that are technically wrong, but not really dangerous in the situation (2/3 of the traffic on Warick at 2am seems to be cop cars, not civilian cars) As soon as the officer realized I was terminally stupid, and not criminally intoxicated, he released me with a warning. THAT is the kind of cop that makes me feel relatively safe (ie. by that I mean safe from others, I am my own worst enemy, and If I'm going to get screwed, It is usually I that is screwing me), by watching out for my safety and that of others, but not a RULES PRICK with a ticket quota to meet.
Thank you officer for doing your job and protecting me properly. (I did not catch your name tag with all the headlights and BLUE lights in my face)
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09-05-2010, 01:12 AM #2
Re: TOWING ZONE SCAM
Well, I was trying out my private **** skills Friday night over at the mall parking lot across from Alltel and, 'Golden boy' Zeb5333 stood in the parking lot from 9p when I arrived 'till 9:36 when the owner drove it away. profoundly disappointed in the events, I got out and interviewed the hostess at Cheddars, and got an ear full of bad information. The manager straightened me out and confirmed that other than the sign in the parking lot and that others are towed, no one knows anything except that the sign has been there a long time. Turns out at my age, trying to be a Stand Up **** kind of guy is not that easy. I was safely home in bed by 10:30 and far removed from the world of crime.
NNPD records department, after a Freedom of information Act request is providing tow log information so I can determine if my quest to spot predatory towing patterns, and report them to BOTRO (Board of Towing & Recovery Operators) is a worthwhile thing to do, or a waste of every ones time.
http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Predatory_towing
Originally Posted by worldlingo
Did he property owner even know his customer's car was towed ? Did he know he was required to make the call when she was towed ? He did not call in the tow.
Originally Posted by worldlingo
In my son's towing experience, there is no apparent damage to the vehicle, BUT ALBERT required the release for damages statement to be signed before releasing the car. Standing in the dark at 2am, and being told that the signature was because a charge card was used, the fact that it was a damage release was not noticed until the next morning.
The charge payment is now on hold, and a lletter has been sent to the tow company requesting the name of the driver (for a possible small claims court complaint, the name and phone number of the alleged 'Property manager' that requested the tow, and a request for a copy of the tow contract. -
Let's look at the law, and then at a contract.
Originally Posted by CODE of VIRGINIA -Title 46.2 - MOTOR VEHICLES
The law is a little ambiguous, It is clear that a responsible manager of the parking facility must request a tow if one is necessary, but there is a grey area in the agent clause - can a general contract authorize the tow truck operator as an agent, or does that require a notarized contract ? This will require some research.
Lets look at a contract: I found what I think is a generic Towing Service Contract for private businesses.
http://www.dominiontowing.com/online...tract-form.pdf
Originally Posted by CONTRACT
Originally Posted by CONTRACT
Originally Posted by CONTRACT
Originally Posted by CONTRACT
........ http://www.ripoffreport.com/auto-tow...wing-b3z92.htm
I will be making strong recommendations to BOTRO about contracts if I find enough evidence to file a complaint.
No one really knows the towing rules, and the Predators take advantage of the ignorance of their 'pseudo-legal activities" to their great profit http://www.dominiontowing.com/
Question
Hi Richard,
I live in Northern VA and I had my car recently towed by Dominion Towing (a company used by my HOA). They towed the car b/c the driver "suspected" that the parking pass was fake (which it wasn't), so he towed the vehicle and then broke into it to get the pass out to check it. I should probably mention that this truck driver has had a personal vendetta against me and my family since last summer b/c we prevented him from ILLEGALLY towing another vehicle of ours (which, of course, made him mad). So he has been trying to tow our cars for one reason or another ever since. My question is, can a tow truck driver actually break into the vehicle if there is no mechanical necessity for the break-in? How do you determine whether or not the break-in is necessary? What laws/regulations allow them to enter the vehicle? and finally, is there a way to tow a vehicle with a lifttruck without breaking into it?
Also, after I contacted the company about this tow and asked for the name of the driver, they wouldn't release it to me. I understand where they are coming from, but i still want to know his name to check his criminal background (my HOA is aware of this and they are going to have a meeting about it some time soon). I am afraid that these allegedly "legal" and "necessary" tows will continue and i am tired of not knowing what they can and cannot LEGALLY do. the police is unhelpful b/c it's a private matter and I've had a very difficult time find answers to most of my questions on the Internet. If you could also recommend any source/website that would have information regarding the guidelines/standards tow truck drivers have to follow, i would really appreciate it.
Thank you so much for your help!
Sincerely, Mariya
Answer
Virginia has many laws, and is in the process of changing many of them, dealing with towing from private property...
But generally, it is not an "ethical practice" to enter vehicles. The "bag of diamonds" under the seat always comes up missing.
But from what ever reason you and the tow company, it does sound very fishy to me...
But I would suggest that some form of legal action would be best to take. Either small claims court, or if you can get a lawyer to take the case you might get some more action.
[youtube:2off8aij]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OajgG1wj8o[/youtube:2off8aij]
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09-06-2010, 09:04 PM #3
Re: TOWING ZONE SCAM
Betty D.
Newport News Police Department
Records Division Supervisor
9710 Jefferson Avenue
Newport News, VA 23605
6 September 2010
Ref: FOIA Request Towing Log Records 1 Sept 2010
Dear Ms D.
I have requested Newport News Private Property Towing Log Entries for the period 15 August 2010 thru 30 August 2010 (see attached email)
Previously, Sergeant Kow has informed me that your department does not have computerized records of these registered towing service from private property. He has indicated that all records are written and manually filed requiring a physical search by a programmer/analyst at $18.50/hr, and $0.50 per sheet copy process.
I am in receipt of your letter of 3 September 2010 indicating a production charge of $115.48 cents for the copy of 185 towing record sheets requiring 1hr 15min of analysts time to copy all private property tow sheets for the city of Newport News in the 11 day period from 15 August thru 26 August, one day short of the day my car was towed from a private parking lot.
Since your current quote for services does not match my request , and is three times the amount I currently have available for this purchase, I will need to postpone my request until I have done a little more research.
I’ll be back in touch as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. You are truly ‘Committed to your Community’
Sincerely
Bill Fyler
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09-08-2010, 10:09 AM #4
Re: TOWING ZONE SCAM
You might have concluded after reading my reply above that things were not going as smoothly as I had originally envisioned. Lets see how we got to this point.
[quote=Communicating with Police is an art form - Part 1 Initial Contact]
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Originally Posted by "Fyler ":1ljalxk3
Originally Posted by Thurston
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From: Fyler, Bill
To: Thurston, Lewis B
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:23:01 -0400
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information Act - TOWING SERVICE LOGS
Thank you for your unexpectedly prompt reply, and for your action on my request.
Bill
================================================== ====
Originally Posted by Nowak
The initial contact phase is over, The Ball was thrown to the Ministry of Deception who alerted the Chains of Command that there was a threat in play. Every one is calm, they have seen this type of action before.
The Front man takes the ball, and begins the Blocking Process, He does not feel he needs any assistance at this point in the game.
================================================== ====
Originally Posted by Fyler
So, the Forward Block has a clear view of the field, and needs to formulate a plan to stop the attacking investigation. I’ve honestly laid out the game plan, was this the wrong thing to do? Has the Home team received too much information ?[/quote:1ljalxk3]
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09-08-2010, 11:12 AM #5
Re: TOWING ZONE SCAM
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Communicating with Police is an art form - Part 2 Old Fashion Skirmish
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The obstacles are being positioned to prevent any long runs. The dreaded steep climb of the Financial Costs associated with the backward ways of the modern under funded police department
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Originally Posted by Nowak
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Let’s play the forward Blocker’s game for the moment, and see how it plays in the field.
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Originally Posted by Fyler
The Forward Blockers moves are becoming a pattern.
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Originally Posted by Nowak
It is time to switch up the play of docile acceptance to a straight forward confrontation, Lets ‘Grab the Ball and Charge’ watching the effect for results.
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Originally Posted by Fyler
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09-08-2010, 11:50 AM #6
Re: TOWING ZONE SCAM
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Communicating with Police is an art form - Part 3 Clash in the Modern Age. -
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Dear NNPD, your Blocking tactic is flawed and unacceptable, but we need a little more information before continuing.
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Originally Posted by Fyler
A quick follow up call to Betty’s 0ffice reveals the records are all computerized, but the Department can’t sell electrons, they have to make their money off the over priced paper and ink.
It appears that Sergeant's earlier assertions that these records were not computerized was not qute correct. today's poor under funded (Internationally Accredited Agency) police department is automated.
So it’s time to check the sources with the internet. And what do we find when we look up the Virginia Freedom of Information Act ? http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp...0+cod+2.2-3704
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Originally Posted by Fyler
The team is now hudling, they haven’t seen this maneuver before, and the recognize the attack is more pointed than they initially realized. Who ever reads the actual laws that Authorities quote so incorrectly?
WHAT can be done to block this FOIA play
1). Play dumb, and ignore further requests on one pretense or another.
2). Have a catastrophic computer failure and' loose the records'.
2), Provide incomplete or inaccessible information
3). Find a way to Lawyer Up, and Intimidate thru legal means.
4). Intimidation through police force and threats - 'Don't drive in our town, or face the harassment.
5). Other creatve Blocking to be revealed soon - stay tuned.
Communicating with Police is an art form - Part 3 Clash in the Modern Age. - will continue after an update on the BOTRO situation
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09-08-2010, 10:13 PM #7
Re: TOWING ZONE SCAM
Virginia Board of Towing and Recovery Operators (BTRO)
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Where does BTRO stand in it’s newly created duties? Some brief surfing indicates the board is only about two years old, and it was WAY behind in it’s licensing of Towing Operators, I took more than 18 months, and there were calls from legislators to shut it down - before it ever got going. You can assume they are pretty frazzled there, and not entirely sure of what their duties are going to eventually be.
They are a delicate balancing act between the needs and complaints - both justified, and unjustified griping (if there is any of this) from the consuming public they were legislated to protect, and the Towing Operators, a good bunch of guys for the most part, with some really bad apples spoiling the game for everyone.
Grudge takes a fairly hard line that the operators are doing their dirty but lawful job until there is actual proof otherwise. She could tone her act down and give suggestions of what documentation is needed to support specific complaints, but she does not. She seems to be obsessed with the low literacy rate of the nation.
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Originally Posted by Fyler, Bill
Originally Posted by BTRO
Originally Posted by Fyler, Bill
Originally Posted by BTRO
In reviewing this last comment, Grudge makes a pretty direct, albeit subtle indication that the validity of the Private Property Owner should be examined. Without quoting the law, she seems to be telling me to pursue this path.
I think I missed this because I was engaged with the NNPD refusal to produce documentation in a reasonable manner..
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Originally Posted by Fyler, Bill
The night I reviewed the ‘scene of the crime’, the Towing Zone sign was a misty light blue, and not very clear. However, when I checked the sign when I was doing my Private **** routine, the Sign looked reasonably visible from across the road.
I must secretly conclude that my son was a bit of an idiot to park there, but I think the reasoning was that the business was not functioning, and there would be no harm done (which actually I think is reasonable- it’s a rare businessman that has a disposition hateful enough to enforce towing when he is ‘out of business’.).
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Originally Posted by BTRO
I was originally offended by this ‘Lawyering Up’ attitude, but I think I was overacting from other stresses. If I get up my courage, I’ll venture over to the Alltel Parking lot and review the sign. Grudge just might give me some useful insight from the actual verbiage, and then again, maybe my original contempt of her ‘anti-consumer’ attitude was correct. The jury is out on that one right now..
==============================
Originally Posted by Fyler, Bill
I may have been a little too heated here. I was under a lot of deadline pressure with all the loose ends I had to clean up resulting from my sons move to the Azores, and the attitude of the NNPD was not helping at all.
Actually, I think Grudge would like to see a well documented complaint for a change, instead of just griping from the gallery. Time will tell.
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09-11-2010, 04:13 PM #8
Re: TOWING ZONE SCAM
This is a partial post that I found on a Florida Forum from last year. I liked it and wanted to share it.
I say a lot of nasty things on this site, unfortunately all most all of them are true. This site is designed to help the community improve. That can not be accomplished unless YOU and I agree to live by the laws of our community.
One of the main problems I have with police is that they seem to forget that they once were civilians like me. They accepted employment in the Law Enforcement Agency to be agents that enforce the laws as they serve their community. As the years go by, and the hardships of the job and life in general mount, they froget they are agents of the written law, and fall into the trap of believing they ARE THE LAW. I can only hope they recover their sanity and return to being agents that enforce the laws as they serve their community, and meet my lawful requests.
Originally Posted by Mod on a Florida Forum last year
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09-17-2010, 07:46 PM #9
Re: TOWING ZONE SCAM
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Communicating with Police is an art form - Part 3 Modern Age. - continued
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On 9/11 we left the team huddling, trying to decide how to face the correct reading of the FIOA laws.
WHAT can be done to block this FOIA play
1). Play dumb, and ignore further requests on one pretense or another.
2). Have a catastrophic computer failure and' loose the records'.
2), Provide incomplete or inaccessible information
3). Find a way to Lawyer Up, and Intimidate thru legal means.
4). Intimidation through police force and threats - 'Don't drive in our town, or face the harassment.
5). Other creatve Blocking to be revealed soon - stay tuned.
.
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FIOA allows 5 days(after day of receipt) to respond after receiving a request.
To: "Nowak, Frank S."
Cc: "Eley, Harold O." , "Bradley, Stuart B." Thurston, Lewis B
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2010 07:04:54 -0400
Subject: Freedom of Information Act , Section 2.2-3704.(G)
So 9/7 + 6days = 9/13, and here we are on 9/17 without a response. It looks like we are at stage 1, Ignore, Ignore, Ignore.
Additionally,
Originally Posted by Fyler, in a certified letter received 9/9/10
Do we have 4 tough cops that feel like their getting pushed around, and you don't push cops?
Do you have 4 concerned cops that are scrambling to uphold their oath of office to the Virginia Constitution, and defend the laws they were hired to enforce?
Do you have 4 corrupt cops that have something to loose if the towing scam is uncovered in their area?
What is the situation that the cops feel they must ignore the lawful request for TOWING LOG records on a particular night, and paid for at the stated rate, with a donation to their charity? The Bank indicates the check was cashed on 10 September 2010.
So did the Police fulfill the request?
Did they apply it all to charity?
Did they fraudulently apply it to the $115.43 cent charge for records not agreed to? I'll have to wait until Monday to know for sure.
In a certified letter, the tow company was sent a request for the name of the Property manager requesting the Tow, and a copy of the contract, the letter assumed that VISA would hold the charge in dispute for 30 days,
When Visa learned that the dispute was about a towing charge, they refused to honor the hold for 30 days, stating court action would be necessary to recover the money from the Company
Originally Posted by VISA, in an E-mail to my son
But what about the Property Manager? What can I say, Amy is a Sweetheart. She has sent me a statement that there is no contract, and no request was made to the towing company to tow my vehicle.
NOW what do we have?
A Towing charge for $120 paid at 2am after messing up an important evening.
A tow truck driver making a False Report to the Police about the validity of the tow. (Misdemeanor)
A tow truck driver breaking and entering into a locked vehicle. (Misdemeanor)
A tow truck driver committing Grand Theft Auto (Felony)
A tow truck driver committing Extortion for release of the vehicle he stole.(Felony)
A tow truck driver committing Credit Card Fraud (probably a felony, and possibly interstate - must investigate)
A Police Records Department that is avoiding giving out information concerning the theft.
A Police Department Violating 2 valid FOIA requests and effectively entering into a conspiracy with the corrupt tow truck operators.
Now, the Tow Truck Operator is Guilty as charged, and the Records of how many unlawful thefts he has engaged in are being covered up by the police.
First we file a FOIA Violations complaint, and then we file a police misconduct complaint to see if the NNPD IA Department is covering up corrupt police practices.
If the records do not show up by Monday, we will query the police to see why and begin filing necessary paper complaints.
------Communicating with Police is an art form - Part 3---To Be Continued------------------------------------------------------
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09-21-2010, 09:21 PM #10
We're getting to the finish, have faith !
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Todays posting was prempted - sorry, I will post it tomorrow but here is an excerpt:
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The FOIA records from the certified letter request were do on Saturday the 18th at my post office box, needless to say they did not arrive, so lets make sure everyone is aware of the problem and moving in the right direction.
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Remember, Frank has been delegated the responsibility to see that the Records department staff is doing their job to serve the public.
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Mr. Thurston is the Public Information Officer that is responsible to make sure the public gets as little accurate information as is humanly possible. He is the one which received my original FOIA request, and he has decided to delegate the assignment
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