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A Few Clouds Eat, shop, get your car towed?
Chamber of Commerce, residents outraged over 'predatory' tactics in Best Buy Shopping Center
Reacting to outrage from residents that have had their cars towed within minutes of parking in the Best Buy shopping center, the Baldwin Chamber of Commerce is leading efforts to put an end to the problem that is keeping some residents away from the lot altogether.
“It's beyond predatory,” said Eric Mahler, a member of the Chamber's Board of Directors.
Mahler is one of several residents who say they have victimized by what they describe as a vicious practice in which residents park in the shopping center parking lot, briefly step off the property to withdraw money from an area ATM machine and return to find that their vehicles have been hooked up to a tow truck — often within minutes of when they leave their vehicles.
Mahler explained that he has been parking at the shopping center for over 15 years and has never had a problem with tow trucks. Recently, however, after leaving the lot to withdraw cash at a bank before returning minutes later, he found that his car was hooked up to a tow truck. Though Mahler managed to talk himself out of the towing fee, others have not been so lucky.
Chamber Co-President Ginny Foley said that an elderly woman who recently parked in the shopping center stopped at the same bank, and within minutes, returned to go to Applebees. Her car, too, was on the lift, and she had to pay a fine to get it back.
Particularly troublesome news for Baldwin, Foley added, was that she has been told that people are actually staying away from the shopping center. She said that the Chamber has worked hard to bring Applebees and Best Buy there, and was concerned about the towing situation's impact on those outlets, as well as others in the lot.
“We have never heard such vociferous complaints,” Foley said. “It makes people weary and leaves a bad taste for Baldwin. It’ll make people think twice about running errands, and if it happens to someone you know, even more so.”
Chamber officials are drafting a letter expressing their disappointment with the situation, and they plan to send it to the shopping center’s landlord.
