Houston Woman Gets Towed Outside Restaurant. Then She Notices A Sign Next To The Parking Lot: ‘Call The Police’

Anyone who has ever lived in a city knows what a nightmare parking can be.

If your apartment does not come with parking, chances are high that you’ll have to deal with a confusing array of laws and regulations about where you can park and when. You may have accrued a bunch of fees if you messed up.

One woman says that she was towed for violating the lot rules. But people say that she might have been in the right all along

What Happened In The Parking Lot

In a video with over 419,000 views, TikTok creator Isabela Damian (@isabeladamian) explains how she and her partner ended up getting towed in Houston.

According to Damian, the pair parked in a lot labeled “self-parking.” They then went to dinner, returning to the area an hour and a half later.

When they got back, their car was nowhere to be found.

“There are these two men, and they're standing in the middle of the parking lot, and they're like, ‘Did y'all have a car that got towed or whatever?’ We're like, ‘Yeah, I think so,’” Damian recalls. After confirming some details about the car, the pair affirmed that their car had, in fact, been towed. To resolve the issue, the men provided them with a card with a phone number to sort out fees and pickup.

From here, things got weird. They called the phone number on the card, only for it to go straight to voicemail. Then they looked around the parking lot for another towing sign. They found one and called the associated number, where they were told that the company at that number was not actually responsible for that lot.

Soon after, the couple found the two men again and explained what was happening. The pair informed them that they should simply go to the address on the card—which was a 20-minute drive away.

“We have to Uber there,” Damian explains. “So the city sign that says that ‘Parking is Enforced’ doesn't even enforce parking in this parking lot. But we are currently waiting for our Uber to get here so we can go get our car back.”

Gallery: The Best Tow Truck In The World

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What Happened Next?

Damian subsequently posted an update. According to her, they managed to find the correct location, which appeared to be a lot next to a trailer. A nearby sign listing tow fees confirmed they were at the correct location.

A worker there told them they had to pay $300 to get their car back. They were also given information on how to dispute the charges.

Finally, they were able to retrieve their vehicle, which Damian claims was surrounded by “abandoned cars, cars with just dust on them, like they had not been touched in years.”

She says they looked through their car and determined that everything was in order.

“Moral of the story is, we paid $300, we got the car out, the car is fine, I'm fine, and we have a way to dispute the charges,” she concludes.

Should She Dispute The Charges?

If the location where she parked is the same as what she shows in the video, confusion about parking in the area is apparently common. According to a 2020 piece in Chron, almost 400 cars were towed in 2019 alone at that address, making it among the top 10 areas with the most tows in Houston.

Whether she is right to contest the tow fees is unclear. She claims that the only parking sign she saw simply said: “self-parking.” However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that parking is free. Instead, it may mean that there are alternative methods for payment that do not involve a traditional gate or parking agent.

That said, there may be problems with signage on the lot. Texas law requires that tow-away signage must be “directly facing the driver” and “conspicuously visible” when entering the lot. The law also says that the “bottom portion of the sign must contain a 24-hour per day telephone number (including the area code) that a vehicle owner or operator may call to locate a towed vehicle.” If Damian’s claims are true, the lot may be in violation of the law.

If anyone who has been towed wishes to pursue a case against a towing company, under Texas law, they must file within 14 days of the tow.

Viewers Say She Should Go After The Tow Company

In the comments section, users were insistent that Damian should pursue further action against the tow company.

“Sounds like you got scammed girl,” wrote one.

“I would still contact the police. Seems like a weird situation,” added another.

“Call 311 and find who towed your car. Take pictures of the parking lot signs and get a tow hearing at one of the justice of peace courts to get your money back, if in fact was an illegal tow. Have to take the pictures for proof,” declared a third.

Motor1 contacted Damian via email and Instagram direct message. We’ll update this article if she replies.

 

 

 

 

 

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