My neighbor kept parking in my driveway so I got their car towed – a $108 ticket spiraled into more than $2,500 in fees

A HOMEOWNER had their neighbor’s car hauled from blocking their driveway which led to the driver being hit with unexpected bills.

At first, the resident said that they and their family decided to initially just get the vehicle cited with a ticket instead of jumping right to tow it away.

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Getty

After the neighbor continued to practice inconsiderate parking habits, the household had them towed without knowing it’d cost the driver over $2,000.

They shared that they opted to call the city’s parking department for the car owner to be hit with a $108 ticket instead of a tow “just to see if they’ll pay attention and move it.”

When the vehicle owner proceeded to block the home’s driveway, the resident made a request to have the automobile towed the next day, TwistedSifter reported based on the story shared on Reddit .

The haul away came with a second $108 blocking driveway ticket.

Before the driver’s vehicle was towed away, the resident explained that the parking officer even knocked on the neighbor’s door to warn them.

The knock to notify the car owner came after the parking official ran their plate number with a handheld device.

The homeowner added that the city they live in “has an opt-in service that they’ll text message you if your vehicle is going to be towed.”

The penalty for towing is a $347 administrative fee for a consecutive offense and a $286 tow truck fee.

Even more fees are tacked on if the vehicle isn’t picked up by its owner within the first four hours.

That being said, once the homeowner had their driveway-blocking neighbor towed, a bunch of other tickets and towing fees the driver hadn’t settled arose.

Outside of the two blocked driveway tickets and towing charges they had to also pay all their outstanding parking tickets to get their vehicle out of the lot.

All of their citations and fees came to $1,800.

The car owner hadn’t paid their vehicle registration to the DMV in two years.

As they’re based in California, the state DMV doesn’t issue new tags to drivers until they pay off all their parking, toll evasion, and other debts.

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 public information posted on the DMV’s online citation portal showed that the neighbor had several unpaid tickets and how much they owed as well.

It seems as if the driver ignored their parking tickets because of the surcharges they piled up from failing to pay the citations on time.

It’s $38 for missing the first payment deadline and another $53 once a car owner misses the second one.

Another $40 is tacked on once a driver misses the second payment deadline and it’s sent to collections.

They could’ve faced a $752 payment total instead of nearly $2,000 for failure to pay if the neighbor paid their tickets in a timely manner.

Because of all the other parking citations the neighbor already had racked up, they owed $2,649 in full to get their vehicle released from the tow lot.

They still refused to pay and, instead, replaced the vehicle that they were blocking their neighbor in with.

After their vehicle was towed away, they decided not to handle their parking tickets at all.

The driver simply had “a new fancy electric car” parked in their driveway.