Shamrock Towing paid, they towed anyway Columbus, Ohio

My story is simple.  My husband and I parked in a lot in the Short North on a Saturday afternoon (12/5/09) around 2:50 pm. The lot had a sign that said permit parking Monday Friday 7-5 pm (or something close to those times); $5 all other times.  We put our $5 in the #7 slot in the old school metal box and went to our friend's holiday open house.  We came back at 10 pm and our car was gone. Towed!  They were towing another car away as we arrived.  A complete scam!!  We paid, they towed anyway. We did not put the money in the wrong slot and there was no time limit posted. The tow truck driver had a picture of the empty slot.  How do we know he didnt just take the money before taking that picture?

We called the police who showed up fairly quickly. The officer was super nice and told us that Shamrock Towing is a scam and one of the worst companies in Columbus. He said the only thing we could do is take them to court. Our friend drove us to their lot on Hamlet Street.  We withdrew $150 in cash after being charged a $5 service fee from their handy ATM inside their shack of an office and got our car out of the lot.

They are criminals.  We PAID!! They towed anyway.

Do NOT park in any lot where the sign says they will tow to Hamlet Street.  You may get towed for absolutely no reason and have to pay $150 to recover your vehicle.