Tourist trap? Parking lot giving City bad rap, officials say
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New signage at the private First & Market parking lot was meant to prevent confusion, but some visitors are still getting burned.PHOTO BY HAWES SPENCER
Last Sunday, Orange County resident Michael Knight, his wife and three other couples piled into his Suburban and headed to the Downtown Mall for what they thought would be an enjoyable evening in Charlottesville. They had dinner at the Downtown Grille and took in a movie at the Regal Cinema, but when they returned to the Suburban, the festive spirit ground to a halt.
“There were only three cars in the parking lot, including ours, when we returned around 8:30pm,” says Knight. “And all of them had tow trucks behind them.”
Knight says the group had pre-paid for three hours of parking but had inadvertently overstayed by about half an hour. Knight says he would have expected some kind of grace period, perhaps a small fine, especially because it was a Sunday and there were so few cars in the lot.
Nope. This was developer Keith Woodard’s First & Market parking lot, and it’s not a place that tolerates customers who overstay.
Knight says he persuaded the tow-truck driver not to tow the Suburban, but he still had to scrounge up $125 in cash to reclaim his dangling vehicle. The other two parkers in the lot, he says, weren’t so fortunate.
“We were over the three-hour time limit by about thirty minutes,” explains Knight, admitting his group shouldn’t have overstayed. “But something is not right about that system. We thought we were fine with a three-hour ticket on our dash. Obviously, other people in the lot thought they were fine, too.”
Knight’s experience isn’t a new one for unsuspecting visitors. But recently released documents show it can be a painful one.Last November, out-of-town visitors Michael and Susan Daniels celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary with a weekend trip to Charlottesville that included a visit to the Downtown Grille. Again, it was a Sunday night.
“There were other cars parked in the lot, and others were pulling into the lot as we were,” Susan Daniels wrote to the Chamber of Commerce. “We mistakenly thought that this was a public lot since there was no attendant on duty, and this was 7pm on a Sunday evening.”
After dinner and a pleasant stroll on the Mall, the Daniels returned to the lot to find that Collier Towing was hitching up two cars and had already taken theirs to the company’s impound lot on 5th Street. They were told by a driver that they could either walk or take a cab to the lot.
“This unpleasant encounter cost us $120 in cash so we could get our vehicle back,” said Daniels. “On this Sunday evening they must have towed at least a dozen cars. By the way, our dinner at the Downtown Grill cost us $100. So we had a $220 dinner in the ‘lovely’ Historic District.”
Daniels says they had intended to stay another day or two to sight-see and shop for the holidays, but what happened at Woodard’s lot caused them instead to pack up and head home to South Carolina.
“If you think this sounds like sour grapes, you are correct,” wrote Daniels. “We were flim-flammed by a con artist who takes advantage of unsuspecting tourists, negating all your efforts to promote your city. We will never be back, and we will be sure to relay this experience to all of our friends, family, and acquaintances along the way.”
The incident raised the ire of at least one city official.
“I know you think the signage you have is enough, but there are too many intelligent people that this happens to,” Neighborhood Development chief Jim Tolbert told Woodard in an email shortly after the incident. “It is giving Cville a bad rep, and I would hope you would be ashamed to be a part of it.”
Eventually, Woodard demolished his old parking booth, revamped the signage, and added lighting and a canopy above the automated payment machine, the heart of his operation. Indeed, during a recent visit to the lot, a Hook reporter couldn’t help but notice the new signage, which warns that payment is required “24/7.”
“The last thing I want is for anyone, especially visitors to Charlottesville, to have a bad experience,” Woodard responded in an email to city officials.
Still, the system has yet to endear itself to City Hall.
“We’ve talked with Mr. Woodard, and the signage has improved,” says City spokesperson Ric Barrick, “but while the system in place remains legal, it’s arguably inconvenient and unduly expensive and challenging for the public.”
Indeed, an incident experienced by an older couple celebrating their 56th wedding anniversary at a Sunday night concert at the Charlottesville Pavilion drives the point home.
“Since my wife and I are somewhat advanced in years (I’m 81), and have some disability,” wrote Charles Churchman in an email to city officials, “we looked for a parking lot fairly close to the Pavilion.”
Churchman says he saw no attendant on duty at the First & Market lot and assumed that, as was the case in their hometown of Harrisonburg, such lots are free on Sunday, especially in the evening hours. “We did not even notice a sign or the presence of an automated machine for collecting parking fees,” he says.
After the concert and a hamburger dinner at Five Guys, the Churchmans returned to find that their vehicle had been towed. Fortunately, a young man they encountered helped them find out where their car was, and told them where an ATM was so they could take out the $145 in cash that Colliers Towing Service told them they needed to claim their car.
“If he hadn’t helped us and walked with us the mile and a half to the impound lot, where our car, along with the rest of those hauled in for the night’s large take, was parked,” said Churchman, “we would still be frantically walking the streets.”
That wasn’t the first time an elderly couple was stranded carless and confused. Back in August 2007, when the lot had the un-automated self-pay system, June and Paul Russell, who enjoyed June’s 74th birthday celebration at Hamiltons at First & Main, allegedly forgot to put their receipt on the dashboard. It cost them $110 and a long walk to Collier’s impound lot on 5th Street.
“The few blocks turned out to be nearer a mile,” June Russell told the Hook. “The pains in my chest and arthritis in my hips became so severe I had to stop several times to rest.” Then she added: “My birthday had turned into a nightmare.”
Six months later, a couple and their 12-year old son visiting from Salem had a run-in with two Collier’s tow-truck drivers, who, in the absence of an attendant on the site, basically enforce the fine system themselves, while earning 40 percent on the fees. According to the Salem couple, the drivers tried to tow their car even though they had just arrived and were trying to figure out the ticket system, an incident that was later called a “misunderstanding” by the drivers, but that the husband called “bunk.”
“There’s no question in my mind that this situation needs to be addressed,” says Chamber of Commerce chief Tim Hulbert, who says he has grown tired of the steady stream of complaints his office has received about the lot. “Colliers has been very aggressive, and while it may not be illegal, it’s poor business practice. The punishment here just doesn’t fit the crime.”
The Hook asked Woodard to respond to this and other complaints, and to address the issue of the punishment not fitting the crime, but he had not responded by the time of this post.
While neither Woodard or Collier’s has been found to be doing anything illegal, the reports of ruined evenings and pricy punishments have convinced at least one family to steer clear of the Downtown Mall in the future.
“I was pretty darn angry,” says Knight, who estimates that his Orange County group spent close to $700 at Charlottesville businesses that night. “It really left a bad taste in my mouth.”
Dang, they paid through the nose for an evening on the Downtown Mall and then got double-hosed for another C-note by the evil tow-truck guy. Welcome to C’ville folks. C’mon back anytime!
Ah yes, one more of the wonderful business community that we always hear must be protected by the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce, and the GOP. These business people are all victims of the City and the Liberal Left, forced into their completely unethical and piddly poor business practices that not only punish consumers but punish other businesses in the area who might just be good business owners.
While downtown parking is a premium, and I do get tweaked at the idea that everyone thinks they should be able to park in someone’s back yard, allowing these types of shysters to operate this way is equally pathetic.
He’s got a ‘deal’ going with Colliers who effectively mans his lot and tows, so he doesn’t have to pay someone to attend the lot. He should be obligated to staff the lot, or put in a slot to pay at. Or just put gates over the entrance to his lot of he wants to close it.
The City has lots for these folks, and it should be much better marked. They can walk the length of the Mall.
The sign must be more clear. Easier to understand…Then if you cannot understand it, so be it…People are dumb and don’t pay attention….Always remember that.
The owner of this lot is too cheap to hire an attendant and is clearly using these means to garner more revenue for himself at the innocent tourists and visitors to the area. Seems like the city needs to regulate signage. And once again it confirms for me that the out of control tow operators in this town are nothing but legaized con-artists themselves.
I thought C,ville was progressive. those lots surrounding the downtown mall should not be privately owned. they should be own by the city and be free of charge, unlesss they are going to be manned and security provided. Wake up C,VILLE,,,
Matt, what stop at that? Lets just ban all private property downtown. A small armed insurrection with you at the lead ought to get us to that utopia in short order. I hope you will put Jim Tolbert in charge of it al once you are done. He can’t manage the things that are his business, but he does seem to be quite an expert on how to manage other people’s business.
Matt, Charlottesville is not Moscow circa 1972. Make your argument in a thoughtful, meaningful way. How would you suggest that these privately lots be take away legally from their owners? I’d love to hear your answer….Folks need to make sense when they post something on a message board. Not just anger and vitriolic nonsense… I loathe those lots too, I’m not suggesting otherwise, but to say that they should be owned by the government makes not a darn lick of sense either…
Parasites.
Ah, parking, the one issue that can make communists of conservatives. Storage of a private vehicle is a service that you should pay for, not a public good or a constitutional right. If someone wants to set up a business to sell storage of automobiles, they should be allowed to charge and create the terms that the market can bear. Nobody is accusing the restaurants on the downtown mall of ruining people’s evenings by charging too much or forbidding customers to escape without paying. Things aren’t free, folks. Sorry about that.
“Knight says he convinced the tow truck driver not to tow the Suburban, but he still had to scrounge up $125 in cash to reclaim his dangling vehicle.”
This scam has been going on for decades. Obviously someone is tending/watching the parking lot–or how would they know your car is over the time limit? Why tow the car when you can hook it up and wait for the driver and get paid for a service (towing) which you didn’t provide? Remember on the UVA corner, the tow truck would park around the corner, wait for someone to park, hook up the wrecker, wait for you to come out of the store and charge you for a tow when only a hook-up was performed? Another legal crime? Private property rights in Cville? You don’t want to open that can of worms.
“Seems like the city needs to regulate signage.”
Ah, they do. Well. the signs of businesses the corporate political party dislikes. Dems not GOP run this city. It’s hard to figure out if city is anti-business or pro-business. I guess both depending whether the government employee likes you or not.
The towing may not be technically illegal, but it should be. This is not the way municipal lots anywhere I know of operate and private lots ought not to be able to be so draconian. It seems to me that a) there should be a grace period of 30 minutes before any action at all is taken, b) the action taken should be requirement of payment of the additional amount due and c) either a human attendant must be present at all times or an automated system where time stamped tickets are taken before a gate is raised for entry and payment collected on exit before the gate is raised. I’m sure that this parking lot operation required a business license to begin operating. Rather obviously, before that license was granted, the city licensing authority should have required that the business operate in a fair and reasonable manner and require details of how they intended to operate. If those details were insufficient or unacceptable then the license to operate should not have been granted in the first place. Now there’s a situation where a large number of people have not only been greatly inconvenienced, but have been essentially robbed by a system that should not have existed in the first place and in some cases had serious, perhaps life-threatening health repercussions and they have absolutely no recourse to get things set right. What if that woman had died, on her birthday no less? Oh and, by the way, what if the people who get their vehicles towed don’t have enough money to get their vehicles released or don’t have an ATM card? What are they supposed to do? It’s great that one city official is speaking out (mostly because he’s inconvenienced by the complaints). What would be great is if the lot was forced to cease operations until they agree to operate in a fair and reasonable manner. Better late than never.
Drivers who can’t follow the rules get towed, this is news? They could park in the public garages and none of this would happen (as long as they leave by closing). What amazes me is the people who park in lots that don’t allow public parking and then are shocked when they get towed.
“I was only there for a second ( that’s after it took the tow truck 30 minutes to get there”.
Having worked next to one of these lots with plenty of signage that told people they would be towed if the park there I learned much. More then once a week there would be a tow truck and some driver “shocked” that the owner actually meant what the signs say. The outrage of the non reading driver was so indignant that I eventually came to side with the owner. I thought he was coldhearted and towing was wrong. After watching the behavior of some of these scofflaws I came to understand what a pain having a lot downtown must be.
For some reason, the writer failed to articulate an important aspect of the problem here. This lot asks you to pay with a credit card, so anyone who puts down a card to park there naturally assumes that they wont be towed if they’re, say, 30 minutes late. We’re conditioned these days to think if we put down a card, we will just be charged for the extra time. Instead, they take advantage of this and tow you for being 30 minutes overtime on a Wednesday night at 11:30–in an empty parking lot, for heavensakes. Cheap, misleading and disgusting.
Who would possibly be posting in FAVOR of that parking lot? Other than the parking lot owner, of course.
It might be noted that the owner of this private property received from the City a loan of going-on $1 million with which to buy the rental properties of Dogwood Housing, an excellent business opportunity in that it relies in large part on voucher-supported tenants. On the chance, however, that said loan beneficiary tired of owning said properties or felt his income from them insufficient, the City included in the gift package a platinum-plated buy-back pledge
I could care less about the profitability of the lot, but I’m against Entitled Drivers Syndrome - the disease in which a motorist believes that simply by virtue of owning and operating a motorcar they ought to be provided free stuff and given special rights. Our government has subsidized driving so heavily over the decades that many people become outraged even when a private party does not extend to them the same degree of beneficence.
Tim Brown is in favor of the parking lot and capitalism. Make dat money, homey!
“Last Sunday, Orange County resident Michael Knight, his wife, and three others couples piled into his Suburban and headed to the Downtown Mall…”
Silly. If he’d taken KITT, the car could have called to warn him of the impending tow. “Danger, Michael! Collier’s is coming!”
Some of the replies here indicate a heartlessness that is almost beyond belief. I wonder if some of these commenters read the whole article and fully understood it. And I think Tim Brown must be one of the tow truck operators who benefits from this shady operation. As I said before, this is the city’s fault. Since they didn’t prevent it from happening in the licensing phase, they should fix it and promptly NOW.
Answer to this is simple….you live in Orange…halfway between c’ville and richmond or even closer to Fredericksburg. Go to one of these places and leave the downtown mall just where it is…no tourists, no traps.
I did read the article and the responses from the city. While the article points out real problems in this lot I can only laugh at a city who tickets aggressive on illegally parked cars themselves shedding crocodile tears when private folks do the same.Perhaps the city could ticket the cars instead, collect the towing companies 40% and not have to tow.
Or those same city official could have the police deal with this over aggressive towing or the could do what they do when faced with all parking problems-nothing. Like their lack of spine with dealing with Silverman and the Amtrak lot.
Do mayhem. You know who deserves it.
I find it quite interesting that the City only chooses to interact with the parking lot owner regarding signage. Virginia law gives the City many more choices, if the City would only choose to exercise those choices.
There is even one concept specifically detailed in Virginia law that might address the specifics of this situation. Virginia Code § 46.2-1232 specifically indicates that localities can enact ordinances that require . . . . “at the time the vehicle is towed . . . the written authorization of the owner of the property from which the vehicle is towed, or his agent”; and that “agent” could not be anyone that works for the tow company.
This could basically require some type of “attendant” (aka the “agent”), if the parking lot owner choose to tow vehicles.
I think this is an available option anytime the City wishes to follow up.
Oh, BTW, per Virginia Code § 46.2-1231, I don’t think any parking lot owner can legally use Colliers Towing for storage. You see, that section of Code details that “The owner, operator, or lessee of any parking lot . . . may have any vehicle occupying the lot . . . removed by towing . . . to a licensed garage for storage”. Colliers doesn’t have a garage (as “Garage, parking” is defined by City Code), just their own lot; hence towed vehicles can’t legally be stored at Colliers.
Just a thought.
lol @ Mighty Horse! ;)
A very similar thing happened to us in Ft Worth, TX, next door to Dallas, where I spent 50 years. Not exactly a tourist, I thought I knew Ft Worth…
We parked in an area that appeared to be a vacant lot (a building had once been there). Later we found that the no parking signage was missing, damaged, turned around backwards and/or not clearly visible from where we parked.
This cost us over $200. When we had our car towed I felt like I had been subjected to the worst kind of legalized extortion there is. We were also inconvenienced for two hours and we had to cow-tow to sleazy, low-life people where they had malnourished, sickly guard dogs and sawed-off shotguns on their office wall. I wrote to the Ft Worth City Manager’s office and I was referred to a person in charge of towing contracts who was supposed to call me; they never bothered to call me.
At least in some places they figure out a better way: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/world/europe/18britain.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
A system of fining offenders could be worked out, but that wouldn’t be putting money in the pockets of owners and towing companies. You would think that a city would care about the image they present to tourists-in particular. Be careful, there are still some outlaws in Texas and the city is looking the other way.
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If you visit Carrytown in Richmond, you will find 24 hour parking garages free of charge…Why? Because it promotes business. Business pay taxes which help off set the cost of the garages. And not a tow truck in sight.
Confused consumers have always been and will always be the ripened prey of unethical businesspeople. That the lot owner has a credit card payment system and doesn’t rely on it to charge extended stays is a clear indicator that he is far more motivated to collect his 60% of towing charges.
drivers are clueless wrote: “I can only laugh at a city who tickets aggressive on illegally parked cars themselves shedding crocodile tears when private folks do the same.”
DRC, the city doesn’t TOW illegally parked cars (unless they are in a fire zone or have many unpaid tickets). They TICKET them. The cost of a parking ticket pales in comparison to the cost of being towed and stored.
Please, someone post Keith Woodard’s personal cell phone number.
It appears to me that the city officials really do not care about this operation. If they did we would see a requirement that tow truck operators cannot collect if the car owner returns to the car prior to removal from the parking lot. In additon, we would see a sign placed by the city, “Warning, the greedy lot owner and business associates at the towing company will tow you in a New York Second after your paid time is over.”
I never park there, but if I had a dog, I would use that lot as a dog relief zone.
I just wont to say i lived i this town all my life .and i no what parking all about. I work at uva hospital and iam retired and i pay for parking in agarage and pay over 800 dollers a year.and parking is really bad in that area. when you park their must be clear sizn posted understand your parking rights.
This all brings back bad memories of my time in Cville as well. I lived there for a year and loved the town, but I also got hosed in this parking lot on a Sunday night when I thought there would be no charge to park. Unlike most reasonable people though, I nearly got arrested because I was so upset and acted foolishly. None the less, $150 dollars later to get my car out of the fenced in lot managed by the redneck tow truck driver I went merrily on my way to work the next day to pay for my towtruck experience
Boycott the lot. Spread the word near and far. If you happen to be passing the lot and see someone about to park there, give them some friendly advice about the potential ripoff. When the practice is no longer profitable for Mr Woodard, Mr Woodard will change the practice.
In cville - I think the issue is that paying customers got towed. If you are going to tow people the minute their pre-paid ticket expires, then you darn well better say you are. A reasonable and rational person, having already paid for parking, would expect they would have a grace period in which they can expect to pay additional charges.
I might agree with you about the commuter attitude demanding city dwellers make their parking experience convenient, but that doesn’t by any means excuse an attempt by a business person to effectively entrap people.
In addition, the standard fee for a tow call that does not entail towing is 25 dollars, not the full $120.
@cookieJar, you continue to slay me.
People the real crime here is that the owner paid over $14M for the property and the city has not let him develop it so that he can earn the money to pay off the loan, and yet, the city has charged him hundreds of thousands of dollar in taxes on the land. If he had b een been able to develop it, there wouldn’t be a parking lot there anyway. His plans called for undergound parking for his tenants.
“In addition, the standard fee for a tow call that does not entail towing is 25 dollars, not the full $120.”
If that is really the case would calling the police convince the tow truck driver that he is screwing you and perhaps make him back off? Just curious.
This is why I will not take my family to the Downtown Mall. We go to Waynesboro or Short Pump, for dinner, the movies, and shopping. And you wonder why the Downtown mall is failing.
Just another example of predatory capitalism. Tow truck companies have learned from crack dealers. They don’t respect their customers and vice-versa. Like at gas stations: have you noticed that the pumps slow down even earlier than they used to? They hope people will be so annoyed by having to stand there while the last 75 cents dribbles in that they will just give up and let the station keep a little of the gas each customer paid for. That is not very nice is it?
Name 1 thing that the downtown mall has that Ruckersville don’t! Don’t need you no more. WE GOT A WALMART!!
The is city code that governs the amount that can be charged and under what circumstances. Somebody ought to look it up. http://www.charlottesville.org/index.aspx?page=94
@ anybody who says that this is why they avoid the downtown mall…..What, because of one parking lot? I’ve lived here six years now and have spent endless time on the mall and I couldn’t even tell you where this particular parking lot even is. Obviously I’ve never parked there, and have found plenty of other - free, legal, non con artist scam - places to park. There are two parking garages, one on Water Street and one on Market, in addition to endless street parking, IF you’re willing to drive around to find the spots. We always seem to be able to find - legal, free, non con artist scam - street parking and have never in the entire six years we’ve been here, had any problems. Never been towed, never been ticketed. Not once. I don’t understand how people have so many problems parking downtown.
For me, *common sense* says to avoid strange little lots in the middle of a busy downtown area. Why? Because there’s a 99.9999999% chance it’s a 24/7 pay-only lot, and just because you don’t see an attendant, and just because it looks mostly empty doesn’t mean something sketchy isn’t going to happen, be it towing or getting a ticket. I would never park in a lot like that even if I *could* find it. (I’m still wondering where in the heck this one lot is. I’ve been up and down Market and don’t recall seeing it. Will have to look harder.)
Oh, and as far as indignant rich people huffing that they’re going to “tell everybody they know!” about their bad experience with one parking lot and make sure nobody they ever encounter will ever step foot in Cville again, because of one parking lot, all I can say is, Grow up and stop acting like a child.
Agree somewhat with “booooo!” immediately above, but would also like to state that I’ve had it with Charlottesville’s bush league version of predatory capitalists. This town is too small to continue to act like a horse’s behind, which is precisely what Woodard and some of his buddies are doing. When it was owned by a human, that lot was a great place to park. It was centrally located and there was an employee, a cool little old man in a kiosk. You could actually have a conversation with him!
The developers and their toadies have been sucking all the funk and fun out of the Downtown Mall for the past decade in their quest to turn it into a narrow cavern surrounded by tall hideous revenue-earning structures. No, I don’t want it to go back to the dangerous and semi-abandoned state it was in back in the eighties, but we need to strike a balance between what makes it fun and what makes it function.
jackie ragland, of course you work at UVA hospital, that explains why you can’t spell!
Why should the city gov’t side with suburban owners from Orange over business owners in Charlottesville?
I agree with those that state that stupidity and ignorance should not be an excuse to not pay a parking or towing fee. Don’t do the crime if you can’t pay the fine.
When did taking more then you pay for become OK? All of the people crying foul, can I come to place of work and pick up a gal of milk for the prick of a half gal? Can I walk out with two pairs of shoes and just say “well I paid of one I thought I could just take one more”. You people make no sense sometimes.
The owner has the right to collect fees for parking but it it is abominable that he gets to pretend that his hands are clean by allowing the policing of his lot by the towing companies. How about adding some signage? I can think of several possibilities: (1)a sign in EACH parking space listing the fees and penalties so that people are not misled and(2)a large lot sign soliciting feedback with the addresses of the owner’s company and the appropriate city department.
i’ve had several instances where people have parked in the spot i pay for downtown. one time i even got to meet the offender as collier’s was removing his car from my spot. he pretty much gave the same song and dance…”oh! i didn’t see the sign!” “i was only here for five minutes!” “there’s other empty spots! why can’t you just park there?” i really don’t understand how the people in this article have any right to be upset. all of them admitted to either overstaying their time limit or making assumptions without bothering to read the sign to see what the rules of the lot were. it’s caveat emptor. if you don’t like the way someone does business, don’t do business with them. i’m sure the market and water st. garages would be happy to have your business.
well said, MightyHorse.
I wouldn’t use the parking garage if I was driving a junk car worth $300. Too much breaking and entering into cars when they are out of sight in the parking garage.
the omni lot is usually my first pick. sure it’s a bit of a hike from the east end of the mall, but nine times out of ten by the time i get back to my car the gates are up and i don’t end up paying anyway.
@jackie ragland:
“I just wont to say i lived i this town all my life .and i no what parking all about. I work at uva hospital and iam retired and i pay for parking in agarage and pay over 800 dollers a year.and parking is really bad in that area. when you park their must be clear sizn posted understand your parking rights.”
This is so over the top that there’s just no way it can even be a legitimate post. Wrong spelling, bad grammar, lack of capitalization and no spacing between some words. seriuzzly come on now its like yoo whent outof youre way to mkae yur post lok as obnoxshuz aspossible.
o_O
I agree, this person is pulling your/our collective leg and is not to be believed. Who’s behind the curtain?
@Mighty Horse– you’re comparing apples and oranges. Sure, you have every right to be upset at someone who flouts the law to park in YOUR designated, and paid for, spot. You have every right to tow them.
The people cited in the article parked in a public pay lot, pre-paid for a set number of hours *because that’s the only option they were given* and were then towed immediately when they overstayed. It’s predatory, and it’s absolutely meant to be predatory. Doing this maximizes Woodard’s profits, especially because he doesn’t have to pay a flesh and blood human to man the lot. (”Create a job? Who me? No way!) Then he has this deal he’s worked out with Collier’s that ensures they will troll the lot in order to jump on any car that goes over by even a brief period of time. Then there are the people who pre-pay for X number of hours, but have to leave the mall earlier because the restaurant was closed, or they felt ill. That’s pure gravy for this captain of industry. I went and looked at the signs in that lot today, and your chances of seeing them vary according to how you exit the lot.
Sure it’s all legal, but that doesn’t mean that I, or anyone else, has to like it. I have zero respect for any “businessman” that makes their money in a less than upfront manner, or who treats their fellow humans as nothing more than a means to an end. Show some grace and give people the benefit of the doubt, for the love of pete! Nobody’s saying they didn’t think they should have to pay for extra time spent in the lot… they’re saying that towing that soon after time ran out is Draconian.
How can anyone complain about any consequences of their actions? Whenever I park I love to imagine the cool business relationship that I have just potentially entered with a tow company: the possibilities! Every time I Use a credit card I imagine the happy horde of collection agency workers that I now can call partners. This type of Capitalism is fun for so many reasons. Greed is Groovy.
There is a difference between what’s legal and what’s right. Be a hardass and say the people from Orange should suck it up, but when Louisa’s bubbas catch you in a speed trap provincialism doesn’t feel as good.
I never go to the Downtown Mall because parking is such a pain. The high culture isn’t worth the walk. Reading this story reinforces that. Maybe an adjacent business should put up a big sign stating that it’s a big racket between Mr. Woodard and Collier’s towing.
Louisa runs serious speed traps, BTW. Must be a major revenue shortfall over there, not enough property taxes apparently. They’ve gotten me twice this year. I am never going to shop in Louisa again, and I’m telling all my friends, etc…just like the folks from Orange.
I certainly believe the circumstances here are sufficent to bring about an audit of Colliers and the owner if the lot to find out where all the cash has been going. I also think that if this guy has a business arrangment with colliers that involves kickbacks that may be something the city could regulate or require a license for. Some jurisdictions put a 1.00 towing tax and use the money to regulate the tow companise and to have leverage should they not declare the cash to prosecute them for tax fraud.
As for me I will not use colliers and if I see a business that has their sign in the parking lot I tell the manager why I am not returning. They will pawn if off an the landlord but I said I did not care. I know for a fact the Lethal towing lost at least two contracts because of customer complaints about them allowing lethal to impound on their lots.
Ny the way if you ever get screwed by a tow company look the tow truck over very carefully. If it has worn tires or loud exhaust, fluid leaks etc get the DOT number off the side of the truck and loge a complaint the the Department of Transportation. If they are going to rape you 125 bucks for a tow they can at least have to make sure the trucks are safe on our roads.
I wonder….would it be legal for people to say, post signs just outside this particular lot warning people about it, or “calling them out” about what they do? Citing names of who is behind it? Calling a spade a spade? People can post political campaign signs, yard sale signs, etc. What about something like this?
@Reality Check - i couldn’t care less how woodard wants to run that lot or if people boycott him b/c of his “draconian” policies. what irks me is the misplaced sense of entitlement these “victims” of his parking lot have. “i assumed it would be ok b/c there were empty spots.” “i assumed there’d be a grace period.” “i assumed i could get a few extra minutes even though i didn’t pay.” well, sorry. you assumed wrong. i personally have never parked in that lot, and i definitely won’t now after reading this article. having been myself a “victim” of the predatory towing companies in c’ville, i’ve learned which spots and lots to avoid. maybe the bad PR from this article will entice woodard to change his ways. but i’m not going to feel bad from someone who got towed b/c they didn’t have the sense to read the rules before they parked. it’s the same as claiming you didn’t see the speed limit sign when a cop pulls you over. being ignorant of the rules doesn’t make you a victim. it just makes you ignorant.
Nowadays everybody has been completely pacified. Everybody sits around passively locked up in their homes, complaining and whining about injustices, “I’m gonna write a letter!” “I’m gonna punish you with my wallet!” but nobody DOES anything. On an altnerative political blog that I frequent the author is wondering why people in America don’t take to the streets and riot about the state of affairs in this country, the way they do in Europe. Well, that’s because this country has been completely pacified. It’s easier to whine from behind a locked door from the safety of the couch or computer than to get out there and take *action.* So, if you’re mad and you’ve been had, then *do* something. And warn others. Don’t just whine and wait for other people to step up and do something *for* you. Post a sign outside this lot, warning people and calling a spade a spade. Start a campaign to put pressure on the lot’s owner and the tow truck companies he’s in cahoots with. A lot of people in Cville have too much time on their hands….well, use that time to make a picket sign and stand outside the lot and protest.
Just my eleven cents! :D
Why does it have to be cash? Are they not reporting this income
Why different prices they all go to the same place. Why so much they only go 2 miles. How mich would C-vill charge?
Boo you are one passive aggressive case study aren’t you? I hope I’m not there when you finally flip your switch…
@Mark, “They’ve gotten me twice this year. I am never going to shop in Louisa again, and I’m telling all my friends, etc…just like the folks from Orange.” I’m sure the people of Louisa is glad of that. I doubt if they want you or your friends speeding throughout their county. Stay out of Albemarle, too, until you grow up.
We came for dinner and a concert at the Paramount and read the options on the credit card kiosk. After the choices that were not enough time, the next one was $22.50. No wonder folks gamble on the shorter times, and the options are designed to maximize violations. We drove down the block to the city garage. Has anyone reported the tow company to the IRS? Cash business = Fraud Opportunities.
I wish that parking lot owner would a) give the lot to the city; b) find another endeavor that doesn’t take advantage of poor innocent folks whether they’re local or out of towners of where they park. c) he should learn to know what it’s like to be poverty striken hisself. has an immense talent for ripping off poor folks.
@wasabi, get off the drugs.