Minneapolis Towing Horror Story, John G. Was Not "Feeling Good In The Neighborhood"

(My photo showing Washington Ave. SE. See my blog entry "Tricked And Trapped On Washington Ave. SE" to understand how the contradiction between information on the signs versus information on the meters lays a trap for students to get towed)

Here is an all-too-common horror story from "John G., a Humphrey Institute grad student. Back in my undergrad days several years ago, I parked my car...

...on Washington Ave. on the East Bank near Applebees. People can park on the street up until a certain time of the day--I believe it was or still is 4:30 p.m.--so during afternoon rush hour the street can accommodate extra traffic.

So at 4:25 p.m., [five minutes before the witching hour when cars turn into pumpkins, and the life of a pumpkin is short and brutal] I got back to where I had just parked my car and not only has it already been towed, but the tow truck is just leaving with the last car at the end of the line of cars which my car was parked with.

So not only had they started early, but they had already cleared every car out BEFORE the official end of the allotted parking time. LAME!!!

Arguing at the impound lot made no difference of course.

[When is FOX9 going to do undercover investigations about stuff like THIS instead of trying to catch underage drinkers at the Blarney Pub And Grill?]

At least I got my car out the same day. I've heard of people getting charged for two days of "storage" when their car was towed at 10:00 p.m. and they picked it up a few hours later at 1:00 a.m.

Someone later told me the towing companies often tow several cars just around the block so they can get as many out of the lot or wherever before their owners get back, and then they can tow the cars from this "staging point" at leisure back to the impound lot. I wish I had known this at the time or I would have checked the area to see if my car was still around.

I don't know if they do that here, though it is common practice around the country.