ORLANDO, Fla — A central Florida family had their car towed after paying to park in downtown Orlando. City of Orlando surveillance video shows the car was towed before the time expired on their parking receipt.
Kim Quillinan spoke to Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal about it because she wants other people in the community to be aware of the issue.
“I would hate for this to happen to other people,” she said.
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Kim Quillinan and her husband John attended the Tate McRae concert at the Kia Center in September. The Lake County couple enjoyed the concert, but knew they had to watch the clock because of their parking time limit.
Kim said, “We were almost at the lot, and there was a tow truck coming out of the parking lot, and I’m like, ‘That looks like my car.’”
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The surveillance video shows a tow truck from NRJ Towing going through the intersection of Garland and Livingston with the family’s Chevrolet Bolt attached. The tow truck appeared to run a red light. A moment later the video shows John chasing after the truck while waving his arms.
Kim Quillinan said, “I got my keys out of my pocket, and I pressed the button, and the lights turned on. And I’m like, ‘That is my car!’”
Shortly after husband chased after the tow truck on foot to try to get it to stop, Kim called 911.
She’s heard on the 911 call recording saying, “Somebody just stole my car.”
A few hours earlier the Quillinans swiped a credit card at a private parking lot at the intersection of Garland and Livingston and paid $10. Their ticket showed parking was good until 10pm that night. Having the car towed was extremely frustrating since they even left the concert early knowing they had to get back to their car by 10pm. They initially believed it was right at 10pm when they saw their car already being towed from the lot.
But a closer look at the surveillance video reveals the time stamp at 21:56:30 after the tow truck with their car was already through the intersection. That’s 9:56pm, a few minutes before their parking session was set to expire.
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When Orlando police officers arrived on scene, the Quillinan’s both expressed frustration.
The body camera footage from the Orlando Police Department shows John Quillinan said, “The guy took off with the car and wouldn’t stop. Our car.”
A little while later one of the responding officers said, “But the vehicle isn’t stolen. It was towed. It was being towed, that’s what it was. It wasn’t stolen.”
John replied, “Well, it was stolen by taking the car.”
Under Florida law, a person commits theft if they deprive the other person of their property, even temporarily.
WFTV Legal Analyst Bill Sheaffer said, “A towing company that tows before they are lawfully entitled to may be charged with a misdemeanor, criminally, up to a third-degree felony.”
Sheaffer said the law is clear even if law enforcement tends to push the cases off as a civil matter instead.
When the Quillinans arrived at the impound lot for NRJ Towing, pleading their case didn’t go well there either.
Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal asked, “When you explained to them that they towed it early, what was their response?”
Kim Quillinan answered, “They didn’t care. So sad, too bad.”
NRJ Towing charged them $139 to get the car back. They claim the towing company didn’t provide them with a receipt. That would also violate Florida law, which requires tow companies to provide a detailed receipt with the name of the company or person who did the towing whether requested or not.
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When Action 9 went to NRJ Towing for answers, the team saw a woman waiting for her car for more than two hours before a worker arrived to return her car. Florida law requires tow companies to provide cars within an hour of being requested.
Jeff Deal said to the worker who showed up, “She got here 1:45pm. It’s after 3:45pm.”
The NRJ Towing worker replied, “I’ve been trying to do as best possible, okay, to get down here. I mean, I’m not. I’m not the only one running this show.”
When Deal tried to ask him about Kim and John Quillinan’s tow, he said he didn’t know anything about it, and then his demeanor changed. He shoved the Action 9 photographer.
“Outta my way,” he said.
Jeff Deal said, “Hey, do not touch him.”
The NRJ Towing worker said, “I don’t give a (expletive).
He then slapped the microphone out of Deal’s hand and onto the ground.
Jeff Deal again said, “Do not touch him.”
The worker responded, “Get the (expletive) outta my way is what you gotta do mother(expletive).
The Quillinans now question why any parking lot owner would contract with NRJ Towing and hope the city will take a closer look at how it enforces tow company rules.
Kim Quillinan said, “It was really traumatizing, you know? It was. It was traumatizing.”
When Action 9 reached out to the parking lot owner, he was extremely friendly and agreed to reimburse the Quillinans for their towing bill even though it wasn’t his fault. He told Action 9 he hasn’t received very many complaints about NRJ Towing.
The Orlando Police Department said during the initial response, there wasn’t sufficient evidence to show there was a crime but if the family has new information or evidence, they encourage them to report it.
The Quillinans plan to follow up by filing a police report with the new evidence.
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