As I entered my house near 45th and Pine, a few days before Thanksgiving, I was approached by an elderly gentleman, very upset, who was looking for his car. He asked if I had seen anyone towing on the block. Since I had been out, I couldn't say. He assured me that he had not parked in an illegal spot, that he had no outstanding tickets and that he had only left the car about an hour. I suggested that it seemed like his only recourse was to call the police to see whether it was towed or to put in a stolen car report. It was indeed mysterious and I felt very sorry for him. I suspect now that he too was a victim of this outrageous scam.
I'm not surprised to hear about the tow truck driver hanging around 46th and Walnut. Last year I was broadsided by a taxi that failed to yield at 46th and Sansom. I was immediately surrounded by a gang of burly men who wanted to "help" me by towing my car, telling me that it was not worth waiting for the police to come and file a report. They were intimidating, made it more difficult for me to do what I needed to do, and made an unpleasant experience even worse. They scurried when the police arrived. I wonder what can be done to get this behavior under control. Mary -----Original Message----- From: Linda Lee <lml3...@gmail.com> To: UC Neighbors current ver <u...@ucneighbors.org> Cc: purple <univcity@list.purple.com>; pfsni <pf...@ccat.sas.upenn.edu> Sent: Tue, Dec 9, 2014 7:37 am Subject: [PFSNI] fwd:Re: Possible scam/fraud in neighborhood - Lew Blum Towing - Beware! Awful! Definitely fight this! A friend of mine lives at 46th & Walnut and says a tow truck guy hangs out at that intersection all day, just waiting for someone to park 'illegally,' then hauls their vehicle away. I suspect this happens all over the city... -L From: Veronika Lambert <ahojv...@gmail.com> Date: December 9, 2014 9:47:06 AM EST To: Clark Park Tot Lot <clarkparktot...@googlegroups.com> Subject: Possible scam/fraud in neighborhood - Lew Blum Towing - Beware! Dear neighbors, One of our renters who lives on 45th & Pine recently moved here from Washington State for a research position at Penn and had a very unpleasant experience with Lew Blum Towing. She hasn't been able to change her license and plates to PA yet, so isn't eligible for a permit and parks where legally possible. I know it might seem long to read, but please take a moment. I never heard of this happening before, but wanted to share with everyone so you are aware; especially during the holidays with out-of-town guests. It may be that the towing company is only targeting non-PA plates, but it's not certain. Posts online suggest they are not the most upstanding/reputable company, which is sad considering their signs are posted all around the neighborhood. Perhaps we should keep an eye on them and reconsider giving them business. The following was written by Lisa and sent to the President of Spruce Hill. I also suggested she send it to UCD. If anyone has any other suggestions how to possibly get her money refunded and more importantly to stop something like this from happening again, please let us know. (Lisa is cc'd on this email). "On Tuesday, my boyfriend parked my car on Osage, near 46th St, where it is legal to park without a permit. I do not drive the car to work, so it wasn't until Saturday that I realized the car was missing. I called the police to tell them it was stolen. They came to my house, and within a few minutes had gotten word that the car had been towed. They told me they couldn't tell me why it had been towed, just gave me the address of where to get it: Lew Blum Towing. When I went to get it, I paid nearly $300 ($175 for the tow, $100 for 4 days of storage, and $20 for a nondescript charge). In cash because they refused my credit card. When I received the 'paperwork' from them, it said my car had been towed from an address in Old City. I've never even been to Old City! When I told them there must be a mistake and asked for photos, they produced printed photographs of my car at a location I do not recognize. In the photo, there are HUGE signs saying it is a tow zone. Not wanting to argue because the place is really scary, I left with my car. There is no sign my car had been stolen and left at that location-- the car is completely fine-- no sign of break-in, dashboard, radio, ignition all fine, full tank of gas in the car, money still in the glove box for tolls, everything intact just as I had left it. What I am saying is they towed my car from a legal spot, took photos of it somewhere illegal, and required me to pay to get it back. I'm not a lawyer, but basically, that's at least stolen vehicle, fraud, and extortion. I called the police when I came home. A very sympathetic policeman took my story down and said he would personally make sure a detective got the information. He could not promise I would hear from the detective, I'm not even entirely sure it got written up as an actual report. He mentioned that tow trucks in the city are 'out of control' and that the police have been told if they see tow trucks towing from the city streets to stop them and ask them to produce paperwork. Right now, there is no law saying there needs to be a ticket from an officer for the them to tow. They can just take it. He also said I may have been targeted because I currently still have out-of-state plates". I suggested that Lisa contact the owner of Lew Blum towing, but she's a bit shaken-up by the whole experience and rather not at this time. She plans to write to James Keeney, a council member who seems to care about this issue, and the state attorney general. It's really a shame that things like this happen; especially to someone who is new to the neighborhood. Thank you for reading and for any suggestions how to help stop this from happening again. Kind regards, Veronika _______________________________________________ This message came to you by way of the Penn-FSNI mailing list: penn-f...@groups.sas.upenn.edu To manage your subscription, visit this web page: https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/penn-fsni
