A Philly Scam

Mtnman928

Mtnman928

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May 12, 2004
227
3
Somewhere out West
Employees beware; here is a sad story of a good friend of mine that commutes to Philadelphia.

My friend is a pilot and commutes out of Florida to PHL. Last weekend he called me up and needed a ride from the employee parking lot because his car had been stolen. I have to tell you that he isn’t driving the latest trend car or any sort of popular model when in fact it is a true “Land Yachtâ€￾. It’s at least 30 years old and after several years in the northeast it is showing plenty of rust spots.

This car has current plates, registration and proper stickers, is registered in his name and parked legally in a stall in the employee parking lot. It like a lot of other cars in the lot and owned by commuters is well beyond its useful life and has found a new useful purpose getting people to and from their crash pads.

When I picked him up he has finished talking to the police and tells me that it wasn’t stolen but instead reported as “abandonedâ€￾ by someone and has been towed by the local authorities to an impound lot. Since it is a weekend he has to wait until Monday to get it released so I become the chauffer for the weekend.

When he checks with the police on Monday he is directed to the impound authority and is required to pay $93.00 in towing and administration fees. The authorities also tell him that he will be receiving a summons in the mail regarding abandoning a vehicle and the fine for that is $300.00.

Apparently either frustrated employees are tired of looking for places to park in the lot and see an old vehicle that is in a parking spot for a length of time (in this case 5 days) and they turn in the vehicle as derelict or someone has a racket going on in the lot to confiscate cars that look old and abandoned and get a cut on the towing charges. The police department also told him that they have had several calls regarding abandoned vehicles in the employee parking lot in the last couple of weeks and towed several of them away only to have their owners make out a stolen vehicle report. Inevitably they pay all of the fees and fines just to get their car back.

My friend did get his car released but it just makes life in PHL that much more unpleasant and his wallet a lot lighter.

So watch out on those classic cars that have been so loyal to you in the past. Someone wants your parking spot.
 
Dont you have to have a badge or sticker or something to even park in the employee lot? Shouldnt the police/towing company/airport parking service, etc be charged with checking to see when the car was brought into the lot? I agree if its been there more than 30 days or so it might be considered abandoned, but dang, even a two week vacation would mean the car was "abandoned" by PHL methods. I would think someone should be getting some lawyers in line (and I'm not big on lawsuits), but it sounds like a scam and criminal activity if someone tows your car out of a lot that you are stickered to park in after only being there 5 days.
 
Its already the city of hate....and we love it. The parking lot is tight (both of them) and every now and again the cops scan the lot for legitimate stolen cars. So when they see a car sitting in the same spot for a while they tag it with an abandoned sticker. If you simply move the car there is no problem. There is a sign at the main entrance to the big lot that says something about how long you can park there....don't quote me but i think its 5 days.

edit: No sticker required...you use your airport ID to get it....if the gate isnt already up or broken off.
 
There's a few independent tow truck operators in the PHL area that go by "Tow Squad" If you ever park in a "Pizza Hut" lot after hours look out! A fiend of mine had his truck towed out from under him on a late sat. nite and it cost him $150 to get his vehicle back. Yes it's a scam but if there is any signage giving a warning, as this Pizza hut had a small one on the outside of the building, then they are within their rights. I would definately go the the PHL comm center and find out what the actual limits are in that particular lot. Good luck.
 
I cannot believe that a towing company can simply remove your vehicle after five days based on a complaint of alleged abandonment. I know in PIT we had to register our vehicle every so often with Oliver Parking. Our lot logs the time of entry and the time of exit.
One time, the gate was stuck in the "up" position, so I simply drove through it and parked without swiping my card. After my trip when I tried to leave the lot by swiping my card, the gate would not respond. I had to get my swipe card reactivated. It was for security reasons that it works this way, and also to prevent abandoned cars from being buried there.
I would go to the press with a well written letter, and make a huge stink about the police and the city! Don't you have consumer reporters in PHL? They love a good story that has the taint of corruption. It may be a well run scam by the towing company/police department. In either case, a U employee cannot afford these little surprises.
 
PineyBob said:
[post="237304"][/post]​
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As usual you go for the cheapest and still find a way to complain. I guess he should have cut the lock and let you park for free or gave you a cut in profits.
 
PineyBob said:
Not the point. He and his "Crew" didn't have permission to use the lot! Has nothing to do with anything else. Frankly I wasn't complaining then or now. I was pointing out how stuff happens in PHL
[post="237312"][/post]​
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You are right it wasn't the point of this thread but it did smack to the type of person you have showed you are in this forum and when you brought it up I just had to point it out.

Is the point kinda like you didn't have right to your breakin?
 
There is a huge sign of all the PHL Employee Lot rules posted near the entrance (where everyone drives by to quickly to notice.) If anyone stopped to read the sign (it's rather lengthy) they would likely get "brotherly love" type gestures. It does specify the length of time employees can park, but I don't remember what that limit is.

I'm sure the PHL Airport cops are under the gun to do something about "abandoned" cars. If you ever enter the lot at about 2 PM, get ready for a lengthy, annoying ride around in circles waiting for a spot to empty out. WIth the morning shift parked, and the afternoon shift arriving, there are inadequate spaces for all the cars. In theory, if everyone, including crews, only parked there cars there WHILE at work (like the rules likely state,) there would be adequate parking for everyone. If crews park their "commuter" beaters there while they are home in Tampa for a nice 10 day break, the lot is inadequate.

In all fairness, many crew members keep cars there for convenience and may drive them once a quarter or so. That's not fair and it's against the rule. Those vehicles are fair game for towing, IMHO, and that's exactly what is happening. It's not a scam. It's the law, it's being broken, and attention is being called to it by the angry frustration of employees trying to report to work who find their parking spot taken up by a crew member that likely hasn't seen the car in months.
 
I was in a long line the other day to get into the lot and had a chance to look at that sign, I do believe it said 14 days.
 
PSA1979 said:
I was in a long line the other day to get into the lot and had a chance to look at that sign, I do believe it said 14 days.
[post="237327"][/post]​
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Girl, where the hell have you been?
 
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