QuestionQUESTION: if my car was towed from a private lot that belonged to a store that I patronized, because I visited another store in the same area all under 10 mins. do I have to pay the towing company because my entire stay was not at the one store
ANSWER: Well lets see, you parked at a store (making it Dollar General for sake of discussion) in there parking lot and then went next door or down the street to another business and shopped.
I guess that the parking lot for the one business who owns the property, pays for the maintenance and taxes on it should support other businesses is what you are asking if its ok to do.
Now you did not mention the City or State you are in, and that can have an impact in the answer here and also if the tow was "legal or not" depending on the laws of your area.
But my crystal ball says that it sounds like it was a legal tow, as your vehicle was "trespassing" on the property once you walked off the property and become a "NON CUSTOMER"
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: I am in the state of Maryland in the city of Baltimore, how can you become a non customer if you patronized the store where you parked 1st, and decided to do addl shopping. I have a receipt from the store that shows I was there.
AnswerI guess you want a "LEGAL DEFINITION" of what a "CUSTOMER IS" and since I am not a lawyer or Judge I have to give you one as a person who drives and is a customer of places also...
The issue becomes, what and where was the store you visited first, and then what kind of store was the second one.
Stores in strip malls tend to have issues like this where parking in spaces is limited and restricted for specific stores.
But if you visited McDonalds and parked in their lot and then ate, and walked off the property to Wendys down the street for desert, you would be a "NON CUSTOMER" of McDonalds once you paid and exited the business...
Granted there is time to get from the door to your vehicle and into it, but it sounds like you really left the property.
And if the total time involved is really 10 minutes for you to park, shop at the first place and then go shop at the second place, and come back to find your car towed. Then that property has some serious parking issues and a very efficient towing company working for them.
Remember that a receipt does not always mean you are a "CURRENT CUSTOMER"
I was in Baltimore in 2005 and stayed at the Holiday Inn across from the Convention Center and I still have my hotel receipt and parking receipts where I paid for parking. Does that mean that I can park there today and not be towed? I have a receipt !!!!!!
I know that is a bit of a reach, but this is what a lot of people ask. How long are you considered a customer, and it is really up to the business to determine and decide that.
The tow company is then told that the rules - requirements, and or definitions of what a customer is and how to enforce it....
And yes, Baltimore has some TOUGH LAWS for parking violations.
Hope this helps, but it does sound like you were a "NON CUSTOMER" the minute you left the store property and went to the other place.
