FORT WORTH, Texas — The frustration when a car gets towed is all too familiar, but sometimes it is more than an inconvenience. In Fort Worth, a couple claims they lost their jobs because they couldn't get to work when their vehicle was wrongly towed.
Justin Wright and his wife Shatera Gibson recently moved to Fort Worth from Mississippi to build a new life, but their car has been a constant problem.
"I've only been here three weeks and my car got towed three times," Gibson said.
They're staying with friends at the Westlake Gardens apartment complex on Las Vegas Trail. They say the first two times their vehicle was towed, it was because they were caught by confusing technicalities.
"I paid $900 out of my pocket, and I don't even have that," said Wright. "I've been borrowing money from my family."
When they went to park last night in a visitor's spot, they said they carefully registered the vehicle online and followed procedure. But this morning when they went outside to head to work, the vehicle was gone.
"My heart dropped," Gibson said.
"They just took our car. They stole our car," Wright said.
After they went to the office to complain, they said the apartment complex called the tow company, which brought it back at no charge.
Wright recorded the tow driver, who said he was with Integrity Parking Solutions, on his phone. The driver offered no explanation or apology.
Wright and Gibson said a lot was at stake this morning. The car was returned too late for them to be able to make it to work, and they say as a result, they're out of jobs.
"I lost my job because they want somebody that's dependable. And they don't think I'm a dependable worker because my car keeps getting towed every Thursday," said Gibson.
WFAA called Integrity Parking Solutions and left text and voice messages but got no response. The apartment complex wouldn't answer questions either.
Wright and Gibson hope it doesn't happen again. They believe the tow company or the complex should do something to make the situation right. For now, they're using their vehicle to search to for new jobs.
"It's costing us money and we feel like we can't get ahead in Texas because of the towing people," said Gibson.
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