A MERCEDES owner said their street-side parked car was towed away and scrapped while she was at work. The driver claimed her roadworthy luxury SUV was snatched from the street and sold to a salvage yard. "It was crushed, I can't recover it back," the driver, Acheal Holmes, said to Kansas City-based Fox affiliate WDAF in February 2024.
"Why would you take something from me that's not yours?" Holmes drove a 2000 Mercedes-Benz M-Class. The SUV was parked on the street in front of her house when she left for work. Read More on Car Tows When she got home, the SUV was gone.
She later found out the vehicle had been fully broken down to rubble a few miles from her home in the hours during her shift. Holmes didn't specify who she thought took the vehicle from the street. However, she was able to track it down to Midwest Scrap Management, a company that buys vehicles to scrap parts.
The scrap company consistently checks vehicle VINs for liens and stolen car reports. Most read in Motors But because the car was quickly brought to the scrap yard, Holmes couldn't submit records to police in time. The company also said it wasn't able to verify the car's records because it was over two decades old.
At the time, Midwest Scrap Management claimed Holmes accepted a $2,500 cash offer from a third party. Holmes denied the allegations. The company did not immediately respond to The U.
S. Sun's request for comment on this story. Another driver in the area, Pattie Stacy, claimed her car was also taken from Kansas City streets and sold to a scrap yard.
"I mean, that’s not right. People work hard for their money," Stacy told the station. "They go out and purchase their own vehicles, and then people come down, steal it from them, and then bring it down here to crush it for money.
That's nuts." Wrongfully or not, retrieving a towed vehicle can be a hassle. If your vehicle is towed after parking in a "No Parking" zone or other legitimate reason, there are a few steps to take to get it back.
Steps to take when your car is towed: Try to figure out why your car was towed. Did you not see a posted "No Parking" sign? Did you miss a car payment? Did you return to a lot where you have unpaid citations? Finding the reason can narrow down the phone numbers to dial. Locate the vehicle.
Most states, cities, or counties require towing companies to leave some form of contact information via a posted sign or sent by mail. Recovery dates and times depend on the company that towed the vehicle, but those times will be posted to the website or can be recited by a representative. Pay the fees.
Be careful to be as prompt as possible, as some tow yards may charge storage fees by the day. If you feel your vehicle was wrongfully towed, contesting the action can be done with the following steps: Be prompt - many states have a small window of time where it's acceptable to file a complaint against a company that wrongfully towed the vehicle. Gather supporting documents: photos, emails, receipts, police reports, and witness statements if applicable.
The more evidence, the better. Get familiar with your local laws, as laws for towing companies vary per state. Try speaking with the towing company.
Sometimes it may have been a simple oversight, and the matter can be resolved quickly. Contact the Justice of the Peace in your area, as they may have more insight or resources to help. They are often utilized for towing cases.
Talk to a lawyer. Many lawyers have free case consultations, and depending on the case, it may be worth it to utilize a lawyer. Source: Oregon Department of Justice , National General , Rak Law Firm Both drivers said they hoped lawmakers would take action and stop car theft around the city.
"Make harsher laws. I mean, what else can you do?" Stacy said. "So many cars are getting stolen all the time.
What's the point?" Read More on The US Sun In June, several drivers claimed their cars were snatched by a black Chevy Silverado with a makeshift tow rig. Drivers caught the unmarked pickup grabbing their car in a home security camera ..
