I parked my vehicle at about 4:30pm 03/23/2010 in a lot that appeared to be a public lot. (Right by the Court House in downtown Fort Lauderdale) There was no signs in regards for payment for parking in the lot, any meters, or notices of any hours or operation or any attendant on premises. There were plenty of other cars on the lot. There was a generic towing sign at one of the entrances for "unauthorized vehicles". But as the lot was made to look like a municipal public lot and there was no other signs directing people as to some sort of payment or authorized hours, I parked. I returned to the lot within twenty minutes and discovered my car had been towed. Other people also discovered their cars towed as well. Obvioulsly since three cars were towed in a very short amount of time, it had to be by three "All County Tow" trucks who were squatting near the lot in order to catch people. The whole lot was designed to be misleading to attract unsuspecting people to park there.
When I called "All County Towing" (their number was on the generic sign) I reported that I believed my car had been illegally towed. Immediately I was spoken to in the most rude and demeaning manor and then hung up upon. I called back and got another person on the phone and managed to get the address of the company.
When I reached the towing company office, I met the same rude person at the translucent window. I could barely make out anything inside- it appeared the window was all scratched up on purpose so as outside people couldn't see anything inside. I asked to speak with someone else and told that there was no one there. Yet only a minute later I heard the individual speaking with someone else in the office. I asked again to speak with someone else or a supervisor since he obviously was not alone like he had claimed. He told me to wait a moment. He didn't move, but in ten seconds he said "I'm the supervisor". Obviously he wasn't and I again asked to speak with someone else. He said if I wanted my car back I was forced to deal with him. I was told a supervisor would not be on the premises until the following morning. We went back and forth a bit and I insisted that I be able to reach a supervisor immediately. I was provided a phone number which ended up not being his supervisor's number but a non-emergency number for the Fort Lauderdale police. Seeing how I was already in contact with them, I asked for a policeman to stop by. One did in a short while, and while he understood my plight, he told me there was little I could do.
I ended up paying the 100 dollars and told to go around the corner and wait for my vehicle. I was made to wait for a lengthy amount of time. When my car was finally brought out I asked the guy to wait for a moment while I inspected my vehicle for any damage. I was ignored and the man walked away like I didn't exist. I have never been so poorly treated by a company, and would like to warn people against this company or any lot that is patrolled by them.