uReport

City of Bloomington, Indiana

closed: Resolved #162064

Business:

Other: I am writing to complain about being towed from Bedrak Cafe parking lot at 8:30p by Tow Time and being charged $215. This is an extortion rate. The Bedrak Cafe has signs posted but you cannot see them when it is dark. They are tiny and dark in color. We were not given warning that we would be towed and then to be charged such an exorbitant amount is unreasonable. My fiance met me and we had 2 other friends that parked there. We were gone from our cars less than 20 minutes and 3 of the 4 cars were gone and the 4th one was in the process of being towed. The towing company has to be lying in wait for anyone to park there and then stealing your car and charging you this astronomical price. He then basically threatened us stating if we did not pay him immediately that it would cost us $20-40 more and that we would have to make an appointment to get the cars back at their convenience. This is extortion, we felt intimidated, and backed into a corner. Then on top of this he tells us that he has a contract with the owner of Bedrak Cafe to keep the lot cleaned out of all cars except when they are open. So how much of a kick back is Bedrak getting from Tow Time. And where is Tow Time located. I could not find a Bloomington address for Tow Time. What is the city regulations on parking and fees for being towed? This makes the city of Bloomington look very bad. No one will want to go down town if you cannot park in a lot where the business is closed. This is outrageous!

History

1/11/2018 12:58:10 Closed by Anonymous

Constituent was contacted, informed of the lack of restrictions on towing fees for trespassing on private property, and provided the business information she requested.

Sent notification to Anonymous, Anonymous
https://bloomington.in.gov/crm/tickets/view?ticket_id=162064 Closed by Brian Payne Constituent was contacted, informed of the lack of restrictions on towing fees for trespassing on private property, and provided the business information she requested.

1/11/2018 12:56:27 Anonymous contacted Anonymous

Hi Gina, Thank you for raising this issue. I'm sorry you had a frustrating experience parking downtown. I have parked in that lot myself while quickly grabbing ice cream, and I would be equally upset if my car were towed that quickly, and for that amount. While a city ordinance exists limiting the fee the City may charge to remove cars from public rights of way, there is no ordinance limiting the amount private property owners may charge to remove trespassing vehicles. Indianapolis does have such an ordinance - https://library.municode.com/in/indianapolis_-_marion_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITIVBUCORELI_CH995NNSTOBU - and you may wish to contact your Common Council representative if you believe Bloomington could benefit from a similar ordinance. According to the Secretary of State's public business database, Tow Time Solutions, LLC is located at 2620 S Rogers Street, Bloomington, IN, 47403. Business ID: 201706121200034; CEO: Jacob Arthur Padawan. Thank you for your input, Brian Payne Assistant Director, Economic and Sustainable Development 812-349-3419

Sent notification to Anonymous, Anonymous
https://bloomington.in.gov/crm/tickets/view?ticket_id=162064 Brian Payne contacted Gina Deckard Hi Gina, Thank you for raising this issue. I'm sorry you had a frustrating experience parking downtown. I have parked in that lot myself while quickly grabbing ice cream, and I would be equally upset if my car were towed that quickly, and for that amount. While a city ordinance exists limiting the fee the City may charge to remove cars from public rights of way, there is no ordinance limiting the amount private property owners may charge to remove trespassing vehicles. Indianapolis does have such an ordinance - https://library.municode.com/in/indianapolis_-_marion_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITIVBUCORELI_CH995NNSTOBU - and you may wish to contact your Common Council representative if you believe Bloomington could benefit from a similar ordinance. According to the Secretary of State's public business database, Tow Time Solutions, LLC is located at 2620 S Rogers Street, Bloomington, IN, 47403. Business ID: 201706121200034; CEO: Jacob Arthur Padawan. Thank you for your input, Brian Payne Assistant Director, Economic and Sustainable Development 812-349-3419

12/18/2017 14:00:13 Anonymous assigned this case to Anonymous

Sent notification to Anonymous, Anonymous
https://bloomington.in.gov/crm/tickets/view?ticket_id=162064 Anonymous assigned this case to Alex Crowley You can use the link to follow progress on this case.

12/18/2017 14:00:13 Opened by Anonymous

407 S Walnut ST

CityBloomington
StateIN
Zip47401
Latitude39.162464141846
Longitude-86.533592224121
TownshipPerry

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