Manda Isbell was stuck without a vehicle at 11 p.m. after Atlas Towing took her car. The owner of the lot she parked in said the tow wasn’t authorized.
SAN ANTONIO — Manda Isbell’s family got their daughter tickets to Post Malone’s Big Ass Stadium Tour at the Alamodome in San Antonio on May 7. They live north of Austin, but made the trip all the way to San Antonio to celebrate their daughters birthday.
Parking at the Alamodome was full but Isbell said they found a lot nearby where they could park for just $40. It seemed like a good deal.
“It looked like a legitimate parking lot. I have been to hundreds of concerts. I have parking in many parking lots,” Isbell said. “There were probably about 20 vehicles already there. They had attendants at either end of the parking lot.”
But it was not a good deal. It was a scam.
The family then returned to the lot to find out the parking attendants had actually been scammers and they were now gone. Even worse, their car was also gone. The family said those scammers had covered up no-parking signs in the area. It turns out a company called Atlas Towing and Storage had taken the vehicle.
“It was terrifying. We are not from San Antonio,” Isbell said.
The family called the number on the sign for Atlas Towing and Storage. They also called SAPD. Isbell said an officer came out and even went to the storage lot with them to try and help.
“The police officer told the (Atlas Towing) attendant, ‘These people have been scammed. They’ve got the receipts. You need to get your manager on the phone and explain what happened.'”
Atlas Towing still made the family pay nearly $260 to bail out their car. The family said the tow company new they had been scammed but didn’t care.
“The tow truck driver was laughing about it,” Isbell said.
Isbell contacted KENS 5 and provided documentation about the tow. KENS 5 also received proof from several other individuals who were towed that night. The documentation shows multiple people were towed by the same driver.
KENS 5 then started investigating the situation and tracked down the company that owned the lot. KENS 5 eventually spoke to the company’s owner. The owner asked to not go on camera but he did meet KENS 5 at the lot where this happened.
The owner said the lot was not used for parking and confirmed the parking scam.
The owner also said he absolutely did not work with Atlas Towing and Storage. When he found signs for Atlas towing on the property, he immediately called a work crew and had them rip the signs out of the ground. It turns out the signs weren’t even secured by concrete and came right out.
The property owner also told KENS 5 that the authorization information the tow company used to justify the towing was false.
KENS 5 called SAPD multiple times about the issue. On Wednesday, SAPD disclosed that their tow unit is investigating the incident. SAPD also sent KENS 5 a statement:
“The San Antonio Police Department is investigating recent scam reports and urges patrons to avoid cash-only attendants who cannot provide a verifiable receipt, verify location signage, and report suspicious activity. The best way to ensure a secure parking experience is to use verified lots and official apps or meters.”
Any person who was towed in this incident needs to go to their closest Bexar County Justice of the Peace and request a tow hearing. A person can only request that hearing within 14 days of the tow, so drivers would only have a few days left to do so.
Drivers can also make a report with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). The TDLR website shows Atlas Towing and Storage was previously penalized for towing a vehicle from private property without the approval of the property owner.
KENS 5 contacted Atlas Towing and Storage multiple times about this issue. They did not respond to our calls or our emails.
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