Flickr.com photo, Universal Studios, Orlando FL
Though the story here doesn't involve "non-consent" towing, it seems apparent tow truck drivers who engage in outrageous behavior in one category will turn right around and do the same thing in another category of towing. In this case, we're talking about a literal felon who did time for grand theft auto...
According to a local "consumer affairs" columnist who writes for the Orlando Sentinel, a tow truck company run by John Warrington scratched a guy's expensive car, promised to pay for it through insurance, then played one game after another to avoid paying a dime. It's not surprising, since Warrington did five years in a Florida prison for false personification (sic), grand theft motor, (sic) and multiple counts of check fraud.
There are so many reforms needed in the towing industry. A good place to begin would be not allowing convicted felons to be tow truck drivers or own tow truck companies.
(My only bit of critique or feedback about the article: if the columnist says he's going to "posterize" somebody, then there needs to be a kind of "poster" illustration with an image of the person's face. If no image is available, well, have a cartoonist make some kind of caricature!
Get enough "posterized" bad guys and maybe you'd have enough to make a deck of cards. What a great fund raiser idea THAT could be!)
17 comments:
Just some quick advise for those in Florida.
If you come upon your car being towed. Get in the car. It is illegal to tow an occupied car in Florida. Just wait him out. He will drop the hook and let you go.
Call the cops if he starts to tow you while in the car. The cops know 90% of these guys are scum bag ex-cons and will side with you.
Can you cite the particular Florida state statute on which you are relying? Any stories or anecdotes you can share?
This is true, I live in Orlando and recently some Tow Truck Driver towed a car with a child inside, when he noticed it, he went back to return the car but for fortune, the cops arrested him in the act. It was published in the Orlando sentinel, I can't remember the date, but I do remember the incident, I got PISSED OFF. Because I know how abusive they are.
He went back to return the car but he wanted A FORTUNE?
The kid was inside. You can't tow an occupied car. Therefore he had no right to demand ANYTHING, must less a (small) fortune.
I'd love to get more details on this incident. A link to an article? The name of the driver? Anything that might help me to track it down.
This is yet another good argument for using technology to notify car owners of an impending tow via email and cellphone, at the same time.
Is it really true that if you get inside of your car while it is being towed it then becomes illegal for them to tow it?
I recently had an experience where the guy was towing my car refused to drop my car even though I had arrived while he was in the act. He charged me $44 to drop it and I had to bargain for that.
Where can I find specific documents relating to such an issue?
This article sounds like it could have been written about me. Mr. Warrington (now operating as Zips Towing) hooked up to my car last October and damaged my front bumper. I had it repaired and have been getting the run around from him ever since on the bill. He charged me $200 just to unhook his truck from my car which is outrageous. I really have no further recourse now that I know of so I guess I'm just out the money.
iam really impressed that people can sit around and make statements that are not factual and lie about the facts of a incident.as for utopia comment about ones past, that it why it is called "the past" what occures 20 years ago has no bearing on what happens today except it gives something for you to whine about. towaways occure every day because people like yourselves cant spare an extra moment to pay attention to where you park. i would suggest that utopia spend some quality time teaching others the practice of proper parking. any further help you might need in this area fell free to call or office and we will asssist you john warrington towmaster wrecker service 407-859-5554
what i really love about this site is that people are fast to throw the blame and then throw up ones past and when the accused such as myself answers to their complaint and leaves a phone number nobody steps up and says anything.as for as utopia stating it would be great to post pictures and it would made a great deck of playing cards who really cares. did you ever think that bad publicity really makes good business advertising? as for matthew not being able to extort money out of my company and that he is out of options well one option would be to go to small claims court and let a judge decide who's right or wrong. the reason matthew hasnt pursued this course is simple. he knows his claim is not true.furthermore florida state statutes clearly state we are not responsible for damage if use resonable care. as for the ones using this site to try and further their endeavors and use me as your scape goat because they dont have the testical fortitude to check their facts before casting their stones my question to them is simple, who are you going to use as your excuse next time you fall on your face? questions or comments can be directed to me through this site or directly at (407) 859-5554 John Warrington
John used my business to have repairs done to his tow truck. Not knowing his history we took a check for over $600.00. he then left and went to his bank and stopped the payment. days later he called with a story saying it broke down out of town on a tow. Come to find out it was never out of town and was only blocks from my shop on that day. he has dodged me for years now but I wont give up. JOHN you will get yours and we WILL get our money or parts back you SCUM BAG
This weekend while in Orlando,fl.My vehicle was towed.We where at a pizza hut on I-drive,my kids where already inside be cause they had walked there earlier.
my partner and I walked across the street to put resv.in at Maggianos.While inside my vehicle was towed.The way I found out was from a cabby who said he would take my to where it was towed and how much to get back(imagine that).This was at 7 pm did not get my vechicle back till 2am.county code states vechicle must be reported within 1 hr. of pickup.It has been 48 hrs and it still has not been reported towed.this violates county codes recited to me by OCS(orange sheriff office).The tow company P.E.M(parking enforcment management)has only been in bussiness since oct. of this year,they also own P.E.M. inport /export LLc is where my vechicle should have been towed to .Instead it was towed to a non desscripe building with no identication, where I had to pay cash only.The Sheriff dept was called and complaint has been filed with the county enforcement The company violated three of the county codes by which they operate.I'm lucky I am local but most people are tourist and are just happy to get their car back and go,so tow companies get away with type of extortion it must be stopped.I am now spearheading a motion to better regulate crooked towing in orlando.
as to what mike posted if the repairs were done right there would be no issue. also you left out the part that the police dept did an investigation and ruled in our companies favor. now why would you leave that part out? or the part about your father leaving black roses on our impound gate and was caught in the act by video. it was a wanna be a mafia guy act.maybe also you left out that you said you would kill me next time you saw me and shortly after you said that i ran into you at office depot and reminded you you were supposed to kill me and all you did was talk smack. suggestion for you mike why dont you give up the automotive business and start selling girl scout cookies this way you cant go wrong. furthermore due to you great mechanical abilities you lost the railway account you just never know who iam related to
I'd say not only to watch out for John Warrington's towing but NEVER do ANY bsuness with him. Unknowingly I invested 6K with his "supposed" 6K to by a vehicle on ebay that we would resell. (Back in Sept 2010) Amazing that just a couple of weeks later instead of selling it to his "so-called " ready buyer for
20K, the engine blew..."just didn't start" he claims. Not only did he refuse MY mecahnic to see it, he refused me from speaking to his supposed mechanic who he says did the job. The "new engine" with install...7K plus his expenses for towing it back from NC $500 Now he has it on ebay for starting reserve of 9K!!!!!!!!! He get's his $7,500 back first and then whatever it sells for we split.
See the scam? I WANT my 6K back and I'll right off the fact I was scammed for the profits. But if he STEALS my original investment money... we will be going to Orange County court. Anyone want to be a character witness??? Wish I would have found this blog beforhand. He took my last bit of money I had and has left me in financial distress. I do have family waiting to fund my court papers... thank God!
John and his defuncted tow master now under zipps towing used the same I gotta tow it back scam on my shop as well. Youve read my story and we all know his a scum bag. I had the honor of calling him out at office depot a month ago. he looked over saw me and said hey I know you..I proceeded to tell evryone he ripped me off and not to take his checks. He begged me to hit him because thats what he wants. I called him every name in the book as loud as I could telling hundreds what a POS he is. I see him almost every day driving down Orange ave heading into his office to screw someone else. I have all the paper work on his scam he pulled on me and would be willing to be a whitness...OH and "beware" this fellon claims to have his rights restored and has a gun? He threated me in the parking lot but would never show it. PUSSY all the way. ONE DAY JOHN ONE DAY YOULL GET YOURS and well all shake the hand of the one who gets to you first. Wether it be in court or in a back alley
as for anonymous on nov 23 her name is debra l arent of 76 w muriel st orlando i really love the way people wnt post their name. it really amazing how people hide their idenity when they post here. anyway debra a quick look at orange county records show that you are being sued by everone (portfolio recovery,wellsfargo,wachovia bank,jp morgan chase bank ) just to name a few. also it appears that your corporation (jazzy dog cafe franchises is defunct. a further check reveals that you present tenants are filing suit against you and your on the run from all your creditors. what a joke you are. anyway as for as you investing 6k in the purchase of a car i have no knowledge of that i do recall that you were going to invest in buying a car but when it came down to purchasing it you were no where to be found.hinda like when the agent sold your pathetic business you never paid him. also embelishing your sales receipts to sell the business.as for putting a reserve on a car when posting it on ebay it should be of no concern to you since youve never invested a dime. as for what you want and what you will get get are two different things.as for your family funding your court papers what are you waiting for. see if a judge will beleive your pack of lies. furthermore what is the common denominator in all of this."YOU" that is why everyone on the the block hated you where your cafe was. thats why the last 2 tenants moved out. you rip them off on their deposits and then you constantly change your cell phone number.i will tell you this everyone is getting together and pooling their resources and when it gets to court you will be the loser (noy that your not already one) furthermore anymore demand you make trying to exsort money out of me will be delt with through the court system. have a great day debra
to mr anonymous ( michael e dobbins 2762 shannin dr st cloud fl ) ref you comment left on nov 16 it would appear you didnt complete grade school since you grammar is so bad just read for yourself how mant mistakes you made. anyway you left out the part where i approached you and reminded you of how you said the next time you saw me you were going to kill me. and i love the part how you say you called me every name in the book and i did nothing. well mikey names dont hurt anyone it just makes you look stupid. you leave out the part where another mechanics shop fixed what you tried to fix but didnt the next day and how the police ruled in my favor and told you to go to small claims court. ou said you would and now 2 years later you just dont want to go that route because you know you will loose. you also left out the part where i called you and asked you to consider reducing the bill and i would pay a fair amount and how you refused to do so. anyway iam sure such a reputable business person as yourself would have no problem in winning a judgement but for some reason you want go to court.i will make it easy for you meet me at the court house and i will split the filing fees with you.now as you can see iam meeting you half way in this matter. no everyone who reads this will see that you dont really want to get this straightened out you just want to sit back and complain. further more my list of others who have been ripped off by you automotive garage (heating and ac comp across the street and tha railroad company)neither of which let you work on their vehicles anymore will be great witnesses of your craftmanship. furthermore for such a quality company such as yours why is your corporate entity defunct? just dont have the funds? i will loan that to you also. also if you have a problem with someone getting their civil rights restored right the govenor or maybe just research the court case abd see if it was overturned. for such a smart guy such as youself it should be easy work.as for you beinf debra l arent's witness this is great news. matter of fact when we go to court i can finally say that i havent been in a room with that many crooks since i spent a night in jail. anyway i hope you will take up the offer of splitting the court costs of setteling this this sguabble but you want because you just want to continue being a tit baby
dear anonymous (michael e dobbins 2762 shannin dr st cloud fl ) i am so sorry that your still upset with me. as for you calling me names its not important because they are only words. as for civil rights restored if you have a problem with that take it up with the govenor but its not uncommon when charges are overturned. if you still have a problem with me stopping payment o a chech for work which was not done properly then lets split the costs of small claims court and let a judge decide. if not quite complaining. furthermore as promissed florida is a non retreat state and as promissed i will use whatever force needed to stop you in your tracks if needed. personally i would take up my offer to split court costs so you will have resolution to your problem. as for being debra l arent's witness good luck in your venture.you two complement each other
OK, for the record here:
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU FOLKS ARE TALKING ABOUT but it seems very important to all of you, and it appears you want to talk about it here in this forum, so, you know, talk amongst yourselves. Just, for the record, I'm not taking sides or making statements that any of this is true it's just a free speech forum, such as it is.
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