Driver’s $3K Tow For Brief Parking Explodes Into $12K Nightmare

The truck driver admits he parked illegally, but the towing company’s actions were questionable too

Parking incidents are all too common. Sometimes people park where they shouldn’t, but usually, it’s for just a few minutes. However, when a quick stop turns into a five-figure disaster, you start to wonder where the line between enforcement and exploitation is.

That’s what reportedly happened to the driver in this story. He parked his big rig on West Pointe Drive in Charlotte, North Carolina. Only a few minutes later, he ended up with a $3,000 tow bill that would grow to four times that before the day ended. 

Also: How A Thief Stole Her Toyota Twice From The Same Dealership

It turns out that the driver knew he was parking illegally. As we can see from images available on Google Maps, that road is full of “No Parking” and “Tow Away Zone” signs. Nevertheless, he did it anyway because he claimed he saw other drivers parked there too. And to be fair, the satellite images back up his story, but don’t make it right. Just because others are breaking the rules doesn’t mean the consequences don’t apply.

“Since he thought it was just a short time that he was going to be there, probably a few minutes, he didn’t really think that there would be any towing,” says Lisa, the truck’s owner (though not the driver) told WSOC. She explained that the driver had only just parked when a tow truck from Ingram’s Towing and Recovery arrived and began hooking up the semi.

Initially, they told the driver that it would cost $3,000 to drop the truck. By the time Lisa met the tow company, the bill was $6,000. Things only got worse from there. 

Both sides of the argument acknowledged that other trucks were also parked illegally there. When the driver of the truck being towed told the other truckers to move on to save them from the bill, Ingram reportedly increased the charge to $12,000, citing lost business. She says they went ahead and paid the bill anyway to get their truck back. “I feel nauseous,” she said. “I was … We could not sleep that night.”

A History Of Questionable Pricing

Ingram appears to have previously drawn criticism over what some have described as unusually high towing fees. According to OverdriveOnline, the company drew backlash in 2023 over a $6,000 bill, including $3,000 for the truck and another $3,000 for the trailer. The report states the vehicle was towed just 16 miles, and payment was required in cash.

“William Ingram, owner of the tow company in this case, maintains his business operates legitimately, though he refused to explain how he arrived at the $6,000 price tag,” wrote OverdriveOnline. “Instead, he told us to contact several other area tow companies and ask what they would charge for a similar service. None of the competitor companies Ingram suggested said they’d charge anything close to $6,000 for a short tow and impound, citing figures from $750 to $4,500 in situations that required hours of extensive vehicle recovery.”

As we speak, there’s a petition on Change.org to “Investigate and Close Ingram’s Towing Recovery for Unfair Practices in North Carolina.” The company’s practices are clearly raising concerns among members of the public.

Who Is Right? 

We often talk about vehicle pricing and how, to some extent, the free market sets the rules. But should the same approach apply to a towing company that’s legally allowed to set its own rates? In this case, there’s no question the driver parked illegally – it is indisputable.

On top of that, they parked illegally on private property. Despite that, paying thousands of dollars, up to $12,000 for a single tow, seems like little more than taking full advantage of the situation. In the future, tow companies might not have this sort of freedom though. 

In the past, the Supreme Court of North Carolina made it illegal for towns and counties to put a limit on pricing for tow truck companies. Now, however, state lawmakers are pushing a new bill that would ban booting semi trucks. While that wouldn’t stop towing companies from issuing steep charges, it could be a step in the right direction.

What’s your take? Is this simply the cost of breaking the rules, or does it cross the line between enforcing the law and taking advantage of it? Let us know in the comments below.