DENVER — Three weeks ago, Clayton Hammock went out to meet friends for the night at Charlie’s on Colfax. Instead of driving home after, he ended up paying hundreds of dollars just to get his car from a tow yard.
“You don't expect to be towed when you're not breaking any rules,” Hammock said.
Hammock says when he arrived at Charlie’s, he parked in an area designated for customers.
“There aren't many signs, but the few signs that are there, they say that they're reserved for the business only. That's pretty hard to misconstrue that,” Hammock said.
On his way out, he noticed his car was gone and he thought it had been stolen.
“My first thought was to talk to the police officers that were there because I thought my car had been stolen, and then I quickly realized my car got towed,” Hammock said.
Hammock ordered an Uber to Elite Towing, determined to resolve the issue and ready to provide proof he was a customer at the bar.
“My first thought is, I will call my credit card company and I will have the credit card representative tell the person working at the towing yard the receipts for the times that I was there,” Hammock said.
But even with proof, Hammock says it didn’t matter. Eventually, he says Elite Towing called police.
“When the police arrived, I was thinking that they would be helpful, and they, again, just said the same thing — that it is a civil matter, and if the car was towed illegally, that I would have to sue,” Hammock said.
After paying $352, he did just that and filed a lawsuit in small claims court. Hammock says when he asked why his car was towed, Elite Towing only responded by saying they don’t tow cars that shouldn’t be towed.
When Denver7 reached out to the tow company, we were told managers weren’t in the office and they couldn’t provide comment.
Hammock says the whole ordeal only deters him from going out and supporting businesses.
“You don't expect for your car to be towed if you're not breaking any rules," Hammock said. "It's just that simple.”
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