Do you know your towing rights?
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- We've all been there, driving in circles to find a parking spot. Sometimes we come back and our car has been towed; in the case of a Houston area pregnant woman, she walked up on the process.
Whitney Fibich is due with triplets early next year so getting out and about is a rare occasion.
"This all happened when I was grabbing lunch and trying to come home," she says.
A quick to-go taco order turned into a fiasco. She couldn't find a parking spot on Shepherd near Fairview. So she pulled into a nearby fast food restaurant and went in to buy a bottle of water.
"I saw a sign that says parking for KFC customers only. I made what I thought was a reasonable assumption at the time, if I go in and buy a bottle of water then I'm a customer," Fibich said.
Next she walked down the sidewalk to pick up the tacos she says it took "probably 7 minutes." As she came back, a tow truck was backed up to her SUV.
"Please no, I'm 30 weeks pregnant with triplets, this is horrible. Please don't tow my car," Fibich recalled telling the wrecker driver. "I got nowhere."
She says she tried again, shaken and crying, explaining her situation, calling her husband and even offering to pay immediately.
"He said it's obvious you're pregnant, that's not my problem, that's the dad's problem. I know, I have three at home. That really upset me," she said.
Todd Forrester is with the Texas Department of Licensing and regulation which oversees the towing industry. He says there are regulations tow truck drivers are supposed to follow.
"It appears he didn't offer the drop fee and he didn't offer to accept any form of payment along with the drop fee, which could be a violation," Forrester said in a phone interview with Eyewitness News.
Forrester says if the vehicle is not hooked up and completely ready for tow the car owner has the right to demand it dropped for free. If it is fully hooked up the car, the owner still has the right to ask for it to be released and pay a drop fee. Forrester adds the tow company must be willing to accept forms of payment besides cash.
The mom-to-be was stranded in the parking lot for 35 minutes waiting for a ride from her mother.
"If I'm in the wrong I accept that, but have a little decency," she said.
But was Fibich in the wrong? Was the water purchase from KFC not enough to qualify her as a customer?
"I think you are a customer when you've gone into KFC and bought something; but if you haven't gone into KFC and you aren't a customer and you're parking on their private parking lot, that's a dicey issue," said Pat Monks, an attorney who has been involved in hundreds of traffic cases. "Really the burden is on them to prove that you're not a customer."
But he says most people aren't going to challenge the system, whether the tow was justified or not, they just want their car back.
"They chalk it up to they've learned a lesson and they won't park there anymore," he said.
And what about those store specific signs in shared parking lots? The attorney of more than three decades says drivers should look around and read signs and notices before leaving their car. Even is a law or ordinance siding with the driver, enforcing them is difficult.
"At least go into the business, show them a little bit of public respect," Monks said.
In the case of Fibich, the towing company did not respond to our calls but has offered to reimburse her and issue an apology. Fibich and her husband are both attorneys and they say they weren't even familiar with all the laws, so they hope their story changes that for a lot of people.
"He could have made his fee and saved himself the work," Fibich said.
The state says if you are questioning the situation, immediately take pictures or a video but don't put yourself in danger. You can file a complaint on their website.
Forrester says fees can vary in each jurisdiction but the average drop fee is around $135, with the average tow fee at about $250.
