Towing Scam During UCSB Graduation

Every year for UCSB graduation, proud parents, relatives, and friends gather to celebrate students’ achievements. Every year thousands of cars search for places to park. I was one of them.

Saturday, June 17, I pulled into Storke Ranch and all visitor spaces were taken. A man walking by pointed to a concrete curb in front of my friend’s house. He said that I should be fine there, so I parked in a cul-de-sac on Shadowbrook Road. There were no signs near my car.

In the morning, my car was gone. I thought it was stolen. The homeowners asked where I parked. They lived there 24 years and had never seen a car towed. The regular protocol had always been to put a warning sticker on the car to move the car or get towed.

The owner called the HOA, which said Smitty’s towed cars to a lot a half mile away. Their charge was $600. If I wanted my car on a Sunday, the cost was an additional $100.

They had stuck a sticker on my car at 11 p.m. that said “Final Warning,” but there was no first warning.

The Smitty towing place workmen admitted that security had told them not to put out first warning stickers that night (which is the normal practice) and to post the stickers that read, “FINAL Warning.” So the stickers were posted and cars immediately towed.

Why did they change the protocol? Did they want to get the motherload on graduation day?

Imagine doing this when 10,000 kids graduated. How many relatives paid $700 with no warning!

Other tow companies charge from $180-$300 to tow a car up to five miles.

Storke Ranch had hired the security company Jimenez Security, who claimed they knocked on the door to warn us. There were four adults that did not hear the knocking.

They are blaming us for not waking up.

Perhaps they need to refund $700 and go back to a warning on the car. Perhaps HOA might consider posting signs in the actual areas where they do not want cars.