SHE paid the meter and rushed into court to try to keep a roof over her head.
When she walked out, her car was gone, and she never saw it again.
GettyConnecticut’s new towing law, set to take effect October 1 (stock image)[/caption]The incident happened in Hartford, Connecticut, roughly forty miles from New Haven, where Marie Franklin was attending a housing court hearing last December.
The judge ruled against her in her eviction case.
And as she exited the courthouse, Franklin found her 2015 Volvo had vanished from the street.
“I had paid for the parking meter and everything,” she told the Connecticut Mirror.
“They drive around, and they look for people’s cars.”
Turns out, Franklin had racked up more than a dozen unpaid parking tickets over the years, some for cars she didn’t even own anymore.
The tickets triggered a Hartford city ordinance allowing vehicles with two or more unpaid citations to be towed.
Franklin said some tickets were nearly 20 years old, many for minor meter violations or parking just over the line.
The car had been towed by Metro Auto Body & Towing and was later sold by the lender.
Franklin said it would have cost nearly $3,000 to retrieve the vehicle, between late fees, storage charges, and old fines.
“I would have chosen to pay whatever I owed to my housing,” she said.
“So my car, there was nothing I could do.”
With her housing gone too, she moved to Florida to live with her son.
The story is one of several that pushed Connecticut lawmakers to overhaul the state’s towing laws last month.
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
The reforms come after a joint investigation by The Connecticut Mirror and ProPublica highlighted how drivers were losing their vehicles in as little as 15 days, one of the shortest legal windows in the country.
Dozens of drivers’ cars were taken and, in many cases, sold.
One woman lost her car while trying to help a disabled patient into an apartment.
Home care worker Maria Jiménez said she parked briefly with hazard lights on while escorting her elderly client.
She returned moments later to find the car gone, despite bystanders pleading with the tow truck driver.
Jiménez said the bill was over $400, more than what she typically earns in a week.
“The only reason I could afford it is because I work mornings, I work nights,” her husband said.
But Connecticut’s new towing law, set to take effect October 1, won’t help in Jiménez’s case.
The reforms don’t address home health aides getting ticketed or towed while doing their jobs.
Another case that sparked the reforms was Tishawn Tillman, who had his car towed over a parking sticker placed on the wrong window.
“There is absolutely no legal documentation in my lease that says that this has to be strictly on the windshield,” he said.
Under the new law, apartment residents will get 72 hours to correct permit placement before a tow.
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