James Lykes had a parking sticker at the top of his windshield but was still towed. The towing company still wanted money until KENS 5 got involved.
SAN ANTONIO — James Lykes moved into his new apartment complex on valentines day weekend and received a tow sticker to put on his windshield. He put it on the top part of the windshield as he had seen other vehicles in the complex display it that same way.
The sticker was visible, though it was near a tinted part of the window could have made it harder to see in the dark. The next Monday the car disappeared.
It was towed.
“I opened up my phone and found it with GPS,” Lykes said.
Parking Solutions of San Antonio towed the vehicle to their location on Bandera road. Lykes went down to the lot thinking this had been a mistake and he could just get the car back. Instead, Parking Solution of San Antonio insisted he pay to get it out.
“I came over here in the daytime and saw the sticker (still on it) but they still wanted money,” Lykes said. “I don’t think I should pay it.”
Additionally, Lykes was still in the middle of moving in and didn’t have hundred of dollars to spare. Instead he called KENS 5.
“That’s when I called you guys,” Lykes said.
KENS 5 met Lykes at the Parking Solutions of San Antonio the next Wednesday and Lykes called the company again. A company representative told Lykes on the phone the car “was towed because there was no parking permit,” despite the fact that the permit was still on the car at that time.
Parking Solutions of San Antonio now wanted more than $360 to release the car.
KENS 5 then contacted Parking Solutions of San Antonio to let them know there would be a story. A supervisor told KENS he knew there was a sticker on the vehicle but it was difficult to see and he didn’t think it was placed where it was supposed to be placed.
KENS 5 still asked the supervisor for a response to our story.
Less than 30 minutes later, a public relations person representing the company called KENS and told us they were currently working on a resolution with the customer. Around two hours after that, the public relations representative told Lykes he could pick up the vehicle for free.
“She said just give her a heads up and they would make sure everything was running smoothly or whatever,” Lykes said.
Desiree Serna, acting as a spokesperson for Parking Solutions of San Antonio, sent a statement that said in part:
The vehicle in question was towed in accordance with the governing private property enforcement contract parameters applicable to the property. All enforcement actions were conducted pursuant to the contractual terms authorized by the property owner. The terms of that contract are proprietary in nature.
At 11:17 a.m. on Wednesday, the vehicle owner was advised of the reason for the towing action based on the information available at that time. Subsequently, an internal review was conducted by VSF management and a conflict resolution representative. The matter was amicably resolved.
Lykes still believes the vehicle should not have been towed in the first place but he’s glad he got it back after KENS 5 got involved.
“You have a friend in me! Without you I would probably still be sitting here saying I’m not going to pay,” Lykes said.
While this tow company eventually worked to reach a resolution with the towed individual, not all tow companies will be willing to do so and people will often still need to pay to get their vehicle back and avoid storage fees after a tow.
If a person believes they were wrongly towed, they should to go to their local Justice of the Peace and request a tow hearing. A Justice of the Peace can award a person with a judgement against the tow company for the cost of the tow.
If you have a problem like this, we want to help you fix it! In our series, Call KENS, we do our best to solve problems for our viewers. The number to call is 210-470-KENS, or fill out the form on this page.