Schneiderman gets Family Dollar to reimburse towing fees from Watertown parking lot

WATERTOWN — Family Dollar has agreed to reimburse consumers who had vehicles towed from the parking lot at Watertown’s City Center this past spring.

A company employee had called for the tows from that lot, the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a news release issued Tuesday.

Family Dollar is currently distributing checks to affected consumers, the office said.

Schneiderman’s investigation revealed that 16 consumers had their vehicles towed from the City Center lot between February and May 2015. Another attempted tow from that lot left one other vehicle damaged.

“No one should incur the expense associated with someone else’s mistake, and ignorance of the law is no excuse,” Schneiderman said in the news release. “Towing someone else’s vehicle causes an inordinate amount of expense, panic, and inconvenience to the owner, and my office will work to ensure that instances of illegal towing are made right.”

This is the second time since 2009 that the New York Attorney General’s office has intervened to stop illegal towing from the City Center lot, according to the news release.

New York’s general-business law says a company needs to display a sign indicating that “that unauthorized vehicles will be towed at the vehicle owner’s expense,” Schneiderman’s office said. Family Dollar didn’t have such a sign in place at the time the vehicles were towed.

State law prohibits towing vehicles from a parking facility unless the owner or operator “prominently” displays a “conspicuous” notice that includes the name, address, and telephone number of the parking-facility operator along with the name, address, and telephone number of any individual or entity authorized to “tow from or immobilize” vehicles within the parking facility, according to the news release.

Family Dollar is a brand of Chesapeake, Virginia–based Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR). Dollar Tree on July 6 announced the completion its acquisition of Charlotte, North Carolina–based Family Dollar Stores, Inc.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com