| Victims
of Tow Trucks are Being Ripped Off |
|
To the editor:
|
| I want to thank Observer reporter Liz Crotty for listening
to my story about my daughter's car that was towed from a
parking lot in Reston Town Center two weeks ago, then taking
the initiative to help me and the community by investigating
my story and reporting her findings. |
| Unfortunately Henry's Towing declined to comment, so a major
part of the story was uncorroborated. |
| What was left out was that this is by no means an isolated
incident. In fact, each night of the week 80 to 100 cars are
towed at $90 each! |
| I didn't make this up. I was told this stunning fact by
a very proud employee of Henry's Towing the night we picked
up my daughter's car. |
| Henry's (and Terrabrook Properties) defend their preying
practice because there are signs posted at each entrance to
the parking lot. True. There are several entrances to the
lot, and all but one are completely barricaded with very large
and clearly visible signs announcing the recent privatization
of the lot and alerting drivers that private cars are no longer
welcome and will be towed. No problem there. |
| However, the rear entrance on Explorer Street is the easiest
to access and is the one most commonly used. Unlike the others,
this entrance is wide open and has two signs that are bent
over and are completely invisible at night. |
| So what we have is a big parking lot adjacent to the Town
Center, a wide-open driveway beckoning drivers to enter and
signs cleverly concealed so no one can possibly see them,
much less read the applicable content while behind the wheel
of a moving car. A sure-fire recipe for making big bucks! |
| No wonder Henry's declines to comment! No wonder Tom D'Alesandro,
vice president and eastern region manager for Terrabrook Properties,
insists that Terrabrook does not receive any revenue from
the towings! |
| And what is even more unbelievable about this entire scheme
is that no one can do anything about it. The police are powerless
(or so they claim) to keep the common folk from getting truly
ripped off. The Reston Association is powerless because they
have no affiliation with or legal connection to the Town Center.
And the Town Center is powerless because it is not their property.
Everyone is powerless to stop us from getting ripped off by
greedy, insensitive property owners. |
| The Reston Town Center should act very aggressively, but
they probably won't. This incredibly horrible business practice
should cast a negative light on the entire Town Center, but
the reality is that most of the people who come to the Town
Center are not from Reston. |
| At the very least, there should be a cone or two placed
at the entrance after business hours. That's not too much
to ask, is it? I do not believe that asking construction workers
to remove and replace cones when they enter or leave is asking
too much. |
| We are being ripped off and there's absolutely nothing we
can do about it! |
| Ed Brown |
| Fairfax |
