SAN ANTONIO – Margaret Sanders, a local disabled veteran, thought her car had been stolen from the parking lot of her apartment complex, only to find out it had been towed.
After a few phone calls, she discovered it was towed by a company the apartment complex hires.
“We don’t have assigned parking, and it’s a big complex, so you park wherever you can park,” she said.
Sanders has a handicapped disabled veteran’s license plate but was parked in a regular spot. She had just changed the plates a few days before the vehicle was towed to the new state-required disabled veteran plates.
Sanders later found out her car was towed because she had not registered the new plates with her complex.
“I’m a 70-year-old veteran living on a fixed income during Christmas, and they want to charge me $295.26,” she said.
The apartment manager did not want to talk specifically about the tenant’s case but said the requirement to register license plates is on the tenant’s agreement. Signs are also posted in the parking lot, requiring visitors to register their plates.
Bexar Towing, which towed Sanders’ vehicle, sent KSAT the following statement explaining the situation that led to Sanders’ vehicle being towed.
“Bexar Towing would like to address the recent incident involving Mrs. Sanders’ vehicle, bearing disabled veteran license plates, which was parked on property. It has come to our attention that there may be some misconceptions regarding the circumstances of the parking situation. Firstly, we want to emphasize that the presence of disabled veteran license plates does not exempt any vehicle from parking regulations, whether on public or private property. In this particular instance, Mrs. Sanders’ vehicle was not parked in a designated handicapped parking spot. However, it was parked on property where all vehicles are required to be registered in the parking management software.
“Upon reviewing the history of Mrs. Sanders’ vehicle in the parking management system, we found that she had previously registered her vehicle 3 times. Her recent change in her license plates may be the reason her vehicle was not currently registered. The property management and towing company enforce vehicle license plate registration as part of their commitment to safety and security for all residents and visitors. Registering vehicles enables us to identify and monitor every vehicle on the property, contributing to the overall well-being and safety of the community.”
Sanders is warning other tenants and veterans to be on alert. She said she not only paid nearly a $300 fee to get her car back but also a $50 notification fee, which she found to be outrageous.
Sanders reached out to KSAT after seeing a similar parking problem involving a disabled veteran and the same towing company last spring.