Texas retiree’s car is towed from her own apartment and she’s dished a $351 fine over making simple typo

A Texas retiree said her car was towed from her apartment parking lot because of a simple mistake she made when registering for the parking spot.

The Mesquite woman told it FOX 4 her car was towed from the covered parking lot she paid for due to a single-digit error she made when she registered for the parking spot.

She said an apartment manager told her her vehicle had been towed from the place she was paying $15 a month for because her license plate had the wrong number on it, leaving her with a $351 bill.

“(The tow truck company’s documentation) says no permit, reserved space, not registered online. The reality is that I have a reserved spot and registered online. It was pulled due to a typo,” she said.

“I’m retired and $350 is a lot of money. My income is fixed. I can’t speak for everyone, but that’s a big amount for me. I’ve never missed my rent. I have always paid on time.’

Her car was towed because the license plate had a ‘3’ instead of a ‘2’. The rest of the license plate and make and model of the car matched what she had registered

The woman was left with a $351 bill to return her car from impound, which she said was difficult to pay as a retired woman on a fixed income.

Her car was towed because the license plate had a ‘3’ instead of a ‘2’. The rest of the license plate and make and model of the car matched what she had registered.

“(The apartment manager) said, ‘Oh, it’s one number off. That’s why your car was towed,'” the woman said.

“I said, ‘Is there anything you can do to help me get my vehicle?’ She said, “No, you put it in, it was your fault, your mistake. Unfortunately, we can’t do anything. We don’t show favoritism. If we do it for you, we have to do it for the whole world.” apartment complex.’ I’m like, ‘Ma’am, I’m not asking for favoritism.'”

FOX 4 reported that the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation plans to discuss how to regulate the tow truck industry after an investigation by the local news station found that many people had their cars towed from apartment complexes due to simple mistakes.

An advisory board member said the department is seeing an increase in the number of towed cars related to online registration requirements.

Las Colinas pharmaceutical legal analyst Ronnie Lewis brought the issue to the board’s attention after his car was towed from an apartment complex in south Dallas.

Lewis said he was visiting a friend’s apartment and had to park in a spot labeled “future resident parking” because the visitor parking spaces were blocked with trash cans.

‘It all started when I was visiting a friend in an apartment complex. I came back to pick up my car, but it was gone. I thought it was stolen,” he told the local news station.

A FOX 4 investigation has revealed a trend of cars in low-income apartment communities increasingly being towed after registering their vehicles online but making a typographical error

Las Colinas resident Ronnie Lewis brought out the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation advisory board after his car was towed from an apartment complex in south Dallas

He went to court over the fine and a judge ruled that the apartment complex owed him $156 because there were no warning signs that a car would be towed from the future residents’ parking lot.

Lewis has read about it FOX 4’s 2019 investigation that there is a trend of cars in low-income apartment communities increasingly being towed after they registered their vehicles online but accidentally made a typographical error and took the matter to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation Advisory Board.

“I’m not asking that vehicles not be towed, I’m asking what TDLR can do to reduce the human error aspect and bring structure to the process,” he said.

Board member Ken Ulmer suggested adding the topic to the board’s next agenda.

“I think it’s an issue we need to talk about and prepare for. I know we’re seeing a lot more towing based on these electronic visitor programs,” Ulmer said.