Her car was towed at 3 in the morning because she was told she did not have a valid parking decal. She showed her decal but still had to pay the towing company to get her car back. If the tow is illegal, can you get reimbursed? It’s why we have Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser. In a crazy, hectic life, it’s what we all want: a quiet comfortable place to come home to. Joyce Wimbush: “They keep the area nice, they keep the complex, the grounds beautiful. They keep it manicured.” Of course, even your home can be aggravating, and Joyce found out early one morning. Joyce Wimbush: “I’m out in the streets, 3 o’clock in the morning, trying to get my car back.” Joyce was awakened to the sound of her car being lifted by a tow truck because, she was told, her condo parking decal was not valid. Joyce Wimbush: “‘Why are you towing my car? My sticker is active. Why are you towing my car?'” Joyce had renewed her decal at Lakeside View Condos earlier this year. She pointed out the sticker on the windshield. The kind, understanding truck driver replied. Joyce Wimbush: “He said $160, and he’ll put it down.” Standing in the parking lot at 3 a.m. in her pajamas, Joyce didn’t have $160 in cash, and the driver took off. Joyce Wimbush: “I felt awful. I felt like somebody really had slapped me on my face.” Joyce’s had to go to the tow yard and pay $170.92 to get her car back. Joyce Wimbush: “It was not in my budget, and I live on a budget, you know, so that was not part of my budget.” When Joyce went to the condo office, she says she was told there was a new management company that issued new parking decals, and Joyce didn’t have their new decal, and that’s why they ordered her car to be towed. Joyce Wimbush: “They should have given us a notification. You know, they’re under new management, and we need to come in to get a new sticker.” They said they emailed the notification. Joyce doesn’t have email, but what she does have is a parking decal that she thinks is valid until April 2025. Joyce Wimbush: “So I feel like I need to be reimbursed my $170.92 from them towing my car away illegally.” Joyce was not reimbursed. She was fuming the morning they towed her car. She is not feeling any better about the tow today. Joyce Wimbush: “I don’t have time to be playing games with people, you know? You know, at my age, who’s got time for foolishness?” Well, Howard, can an association change parking decals and then order the towing of a car that doesn’t have the new decal? Howard Finkelstein, 7News legal expert: “Yes, but there is an ‘if.’ First, they have to notify all the residents. In this case, they sent an email, and since Joyce doesn’t have email, she was not legally notified. That means her parking decal is valid, and the association has to return the money she paid for the illegal tow.” We contacted Lakeside View’s property manager. First, they said they would not return Joyce’s towing fee because her sticker was not valid. We then sent the paid receipt showing she had paid for her decal. By that time, Joyce had been given an updated parking decal, and the property manager agreed to return her money, since they were the ones that requested the tow. Just what Joyce asked us to get done. Joyce Wimbush: “Am I glad I called Help Me Howard! I watch Help Me Howard, just about every episode I see come on.” If you’re smiling, we’re smiling. And remember, Joyce said the tow truck driver offered to put her car down if she paid $160. That’s illegal, because according to state law, if you are willing to pay before they tow the vehicle, the driver can only charge half the eventual towing fee. Got a valid problem and being told it’s null and void? Need to be lifted up? Park the problem with us to haul it away, for free. With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News. CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:Email: [email protected]: Patrick Fraser at [email protected]: 305-953-WSVNBroward: 954-761-WSVN