Towing Issues: car towed from shopping center lot, pg county md, shopping center parking lots

Question
Hello,
A group of golfers assembled to meet the bus at a shopping center pad on Allentown Rd. in PG County, Md for our annual golf trip. We parked on the large lot near Checkers, and across from a few small stores. We left at 6:30 am on Saturday, July 19th and returned at approx. 8 pm on the same day. Upon our return, we discovered that nearly all of our vehicles had been towed. We noticed a small sign with a phone # and verbage stating "no commuter parking,-vehicles to be towed." My question is " can a car be legally towed on a Saturday for violation of "commuter parking." We were initially told that we could retrieve our cars on Sunday from the towing company's lot, but after some persistence we were informed that we could get them that same day for a $ 200 per car cash only payment. Is there a limit for what a towing company can charge for same day retrieval? We were provided receipts which listed a towing charge of $100 and a storage fee of $50, but a total charge of $200(undoubtedly employees pocketed the additional $50 per car. Do we have any recourse for improper towing/ signage, and excessive fees charged? Thank you for your time and response. Needless to say a great golf trip ruined.

Answer
Well first of all I have to say that shopping center parking lots are always targets for groups to park in and go on trips and such...
That does result in some places towing vehicles for illegally parking..

Commuter or not, that is not really  an issue when the vehicles are taking up spaces for all day...  And generally weekends do tend to be a busier shopping day and that means more vehicles need to park.

As to the fees that sounds about right, and while there is a "missing 50.00" from your statement, what it might be is an "afterhours or gate fee" which is charged any time other than normal business hours for the tow company office.  That is generally defined as Monday to Friday 8 AM to 5 PM..