We had went to Virginia beach on July 7th. Upon entering the city, we looked for a place to park, and found the Sundial Motel. They were charging $5. Oo for all day parking. A young foreign guy took our money and told us where to park.
As we were parking the car, he came up and told us we were too far from the vehichle beside of us, and asked us to move closer. We did move a little closer, but that was not good enough, he wanted us even closer, we moved again, and when I tried to get out of the car, I couldnt even open my door, we were so close.
I told my fiancee to move back over, so he did, and the motel guy said we had to move back, and we said no, that we were not going to allow someone to hit our car. He didnt seem to understand, and my fiance got out of our car to show him that we couldnt open our door, and to explain that the person beside of us wouldnt be able to get in their vehichle either. He said that he was told that he had to park them close. We refused to move closer.
He then seemed to understand, and said that if we werent comfortable parking that close, then we could go to the other lot, and then proceeded to direct us there. We parked and placed our parking permit that we had recieved in the windshield and proceeded for the day at the beach. This was about 10:30 AM.
When we returned later that evening, our car was gone. We then had to walk about 8 blocks (with 2 small children, one being disabled) to the Police Station, thinking they had taken our car, only to find out that they didnt. The Police gave us the impound number and we called and they said they had our car. We walked over there, and had to wait in the heat for about 45 minutes for someone to show up to let us in. We then explained the situation to the guy and showed him the parking tag (still hanging in the window) and he called his boss, who proceeded to say that basically, it wasnt his problem, and that we had to pay the full $70.00 to get the vehichle out.
We didnt even have that much money on us, and my fiancee had to walk to an ATM machine to get the money. We got our vehichle and left and went to the motel. When we entered, we explained the situation to them, hoping they would refund our money.
The people there were rude, and very unhelpful, and kept insisting that the guy spoke english. We went out to the lot where the guy was, and I told her that the guy there now was not the same guy as that morning. She went to him and stated "you WERE here this morning", and the guy said no. She then said it again. He said no again, and said that he had come in at 3PM. We then found out the name of the guy who was there, and found out he was a foreign exchange student.
The lady told us that we had parked in the wrong lot, and we kept trying to tell her that it was the one he had told us to park in. She didnt seem to get this, and kept insisting it wasnt thier lot. We told her we understood, but explained it again, she still didnt seem to get it. She got mad, and went back to motel. We followed. We then spoke to the other person there, saying we wanted the name of the manager, hotel, the number and all the information about it, cause we were calling a lawyer. She gave me a business card and we left.
We then went to Mc'Donalds and talked to the manager, who got very angry, stating that we were the 11th person (just that day) that he had towed because of the exact same situation. (All showing parking tickets also) He then gave me a signed statement saying this, and that it was a usual occurence. He was very upset, and was going to speak with the manager over at the motel. Apparently this happens quite often. The manager apologized to us for having the vehichle towed.By this time, it was around 8:30 at night.
We then traveled to Richmond, having to get a hotel, and then my fiancee had to miss work the next day. When we returned home the next day, I called the manager, who said that she would speak with the owner to see if our money could be refunded, and that she would call me that afternoon.
She never bothered to call, and when we called again, she wasn't available. I then contacted the VA. Beach newspaper and told them of our story, and they said it was a ususal occurance down there. And that they had recieved several complaints. I also called the Mayor, and 3 City Council members, to complain, who gave me the number of the Hotel Association, and that I should call and complain there. I did.
But through all this, our money has still not been refunded. And a $5.00 parking ticket ended up costing us a $70.00 tow bill, a $65.00 motel bill, and lost wages in the amount of $130.50. I cant even imagine what the other 11 people that day went through.
We have no choice but to pursue this through all means possible. This was a total scam, and we think that it is between The Aristocrat Towing company and The Sundial Motel. Upon further investigation, we also found out the Mc'Donalds parking lot is the most towed from area in all the City. We would like resolution to this problem, including all the money we lost. We are thoroughly saddened and disgusted at the situation, and we will not be going to Virginia Beach again anytime soon. This has soured us toward the City, as they were not helpful in resolving the problem. We also still have our parking permit and tow bill, and signed statement from the manager at Mc'Donalds, stating we were the 11th customer that day to be towed for the same situation. We ask for complete resolution to this situation.
Sunshine
Middletown, Virginia
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