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A DRIVER has shared his frustration after he commuted home from work only to find his car nowhere in sight – and ended with him having to pay a $260 fine.
Alex Dixon has commuted to work in New York City from the Riverside Train Station in Greenwich, Connecticut for 21 years but on September 3 he exited the train with no car to ride home in.
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Dixon and many others cars were towed from the Metro North lot because of milling and paving work.
Some commuters were lucky enough to have spouses move their cars, Dixon told Greenwich Time.
But some unlucky drivers like himself were unable to move the vehicles, costing them $260 in the process for the tow.
Dixon has reportedly appealed the fine.
Upon arriving that morning, Dixon noted he did not see any “no parking” signs where he parked his car.
“When I went into the south parking lot, I saw that there was a workhorse barrier on the southwestern section, under the Riverside Ave. bridge,” wrote Dixon in a letter to First Selectman Fred Camillo.
“Which said ‘no parking’ on it as well as scattered ‘no parking’ signs every four to five spots from there to the middle of the lot.”
The driver said there were no “no parking” signs in the middle of the parking lot so he decided to park there next to fellow commuters and hop on the train to New York City.
At 8:40 am, Dixon received a call from the Greenwich Police Department and was told his car was parked in a tow-away zone, he told Greenwich Time.
Police told the commuter he had just 15 minutes to move his car or it would be towed, he told the outlet.
But because he was in New York City he had no chance of moving his car on time.
“Even if I went to get a helicopter, I wasn’t getting back (to Greenwich) in 15 minutes,” he said.
Dixon described the scene once he arrived at Riverside Station from NYC after work.
“Instead of seeing the usual cars there or even half of the lot with the cars, all we saw was the milling construction trucks.”
What to do if your car is towed
Wrongfully or not, retrieving a towed vehicle can be a hassle.
If your vehicle is towed after parking in a “No Parking” zone or other legitimate reason, there are a few steps to take to get it back.
Steps to take when your car is towed:
- Try to figure out why your car was towed. Did you not see a posted “No Parking” sign? Did you miss a car payment? Did you return to a lot where you have unpaid citations? Finding the reason can narrow down the phone numbers to dial.
- Locate the vehicle. Most states, cities, or counties require towing companies to leave some form of contact information via a posted sign or sent by mail.
- Recovery dates and times depend on the company that towed the vehicle, but those times will be posted to the website or can be recited by a representative.
- Pay the fees. Be careful to be as prompt as possible, as some tow yards may charge storage fees by the day.
If you feel your vehicle was wrongfully towed, contesting the action can be done with the following steps:
- Be prompt – many states have a small window of time where it’s acceptable to file a complaint against a company that wrongfully towed the vehicle.
- Gather supporting documents: photos, emails, receipts, police reports, and witness statements if applicable. The more evidence, the better.
- Get familiar with your local laws, as laws for towing companies vary per state.
- Try speaking with the towing company. Sometimes it may have been a simple oversight, and the matter can be resolved quickly.
- Contact the Justice of the Peace in your area, as they may have more insight or resources to help. They are often utilized for towing cases.
- Talk to a lawyer. Many lawyers have free case consultations, and depending on the case, it may be worth it to utilize a lawyer.
Source: Oregon Department of Justice, National General, Rak Law Firm
Twenty-eight vehicles were towed from the Riverside Train Station’s southern lot, according to the Greenwich Police Department’s towing log for September 3.
Two mopeds and a stand-up scooter were also moved from the pavement to grass to not be in the way of the Department of Public Work’s milling and paving project, said Lt. Patrick Smyth of the Greenwich Police Department.
The DPW reportedly had signs up prohibiting parking in the southern lot between September 3 and September 13, according to Smyth.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to DPW for comment.
Camillo vows to make sure a situation like this never happens again, he told the Greenwich Times.
Dixon continues to commute from Riverside Station but has used a different mode of transportation to avoid getting his car towed again.
“The rest of last week I just ended up getting on a bicycle and going because it wasn’t worth that possibility happening again,” he said.
