Customers confused after cars towed from Raleigh McDonald's

I am so glad I do not live in that vicinity. Here is something for you sleuths can get to the bottom of. I suspect something fishy going on, rather than just some dispute. To tow over 400 cars is a tad bit overzealous on a company's part. No one is going to keep their business open if this keeps happening. Totally ridculious.

www.wral.com... Reporter: Monica Laliberte Photographer: David McCorkle

Billy Marshall found his truck towed within minutes while he made his regular 6:15 a.m. stop at the fast food joint. Ace Towing hauled away the truck and charged Marshall $125 to get it back.

Sneeden's is also the owner of the Kmart shopping center at Western Boulevard and Blue Ridge Road in Raleigh. Almost 400 cars have been towed this year from that location.

Raleigh authorities are also looking into the rate charged by Ace Towing. By law, tow companies can only charge $100 if a car is retrieved the same day it was towed. Marshall and others were charged $125.

First thing I would look into is whether there is any relationship at all between the owners of the tow company and the owners of either of those properties. Always follow the money trail.

Secondly, as a consumer, you can bet I would never use either of those places and I would make sure that everyone I knew would not, either. If those companies want to kill their businesses, they're doing a darn good job of it.

I live about an hour south of there. I don't visit frequently (I just don't like traffic, it has nothing to do with this). but, I have always heard rumors that tow companies up there just drive around and look for reasons to tow people. The majority of their work doesn't come from towing people that need to be towed but from towing cars that seemingly have done nothing wrong. I heard stories of people being towed because they were parked on the line in the parking spot and so they deemed it illegal parking.

I don't know how true it is but, I have always heard it. If that is the case there needs to be some new laws put in place to prevent this because unfortunately I think it is going to start to affect local businesses who can't do anything about it right now.

reply to post by Diabolical


This is nothing new with Tow Companies. Tow Companies rate right up there with those "reduce the tax you owe companies" Their gonna rape you in broad open daylight...and have the law on their side. If there's signs that say NO PARKING and give a time frame and these folks fall within the time frame...tow companies make the dollars. I would guess there may be a topless or adult business near this area. Most normal business's dont want those boobie gawkers cars parked in their lots...and the news broadcast and related article want give the boobie bar any free advertising.

Oh not to mention, I live in N.C. but not Raleigh...Raleigh is a crap hole..not enough boobie bars. And way to many folks from other places.

My first thought was there must be a dispute between the McDonalds owner and the property owner so I went to the link OP provided and the very first paragraph:

Customers of a Raleigh McDonald's are getting caught in the middle of a dispute between the restaurant, on Capital Boulevard near Triangle Town Center, and the property owner, and it has proven costly.

I had a friend who owned a bar but not the property. The owner owned another business on the same area of property and tried to muscle out my friend to not renew the lease but it didn't work in the beginning. After tons on legal fees and constant tactics by the owner - such as putting up temporary fencing on her parking area so patrons couldn't park there - my friend closed the business and retired.

This is clearly the owner of the property trying to hurt the owner of the McDonalds on the leased property.

reply to post by StoutBroux


Then why go after the Kmart shoppers? Is there a dispute with them as well?

At first I thought too it was just between McDonald's and the restaurant, but it's also the shoppers at Kmart.

reply to post by Diabolical


I would presume it is because they went into McDonalds first and he just assumed that is all they were doing. Also, in fairness, they could just be saying they were going to go to K-Mart to make themselves sound better when this inevitably goes to court.

Jomina
First thing I would look into is whether there is any relationship at all between the owners of the tow company and the owners of either of those properties. Always follow the money trail.

Secondly, as a consumer, you can bet I would never use either of those places and I would make sure that everyone I knew would not, either. If those companies want to kill their businesses, they're doing a darn good job of it.

It smacks of something "Brothers" might do. You know the kind of "Brothers" I speak of, right?