California concertgoers fall prey to cruel tactic as cars vanish from parking lot

Some Sacramento concertgoers found themselves facing a $562 headache after returning to parking lots after a music fest to discover their cars had vanished — with one festivalgoer claiming he got back a vehicle so badly damaged he can no longer drive it.Bruce Capagli is among a growing number of drivers questioning the legitimacy of a towing operation that directed motorists to an unmarked dirt lot to reclaim their vehicles after being questionably towed while attending the Aftershock rock festival, CBS Sacramento reported.The operation used the name J&B Towing on its paperwork, but questions about its licensing and towing authorization remain unanswered.Capagli’s ordeal began after he parked in a lot on Bercut Drive to attend the festival.When he returned, his car was missing, and a temporary sign directed him to call a phone number.Rather than explaining what happened, the person who answered gave him an address on Del Paso Boulevard.That address was tied shared office with an auto body shop — not where Capagli ultimately collected his car.
He said he was transported in a white Honda Civic to a dirt field in a residential neighborhood.“I knew something was up when we saw a rig that was a Lincoln Navigator with a trailer pulling another car off the lot,” Capagli told CBS.The pickup location had no signage identifying a towing business.Drivers were nevertheless presented with preprinted receipts demanding $562 to retrieve their vehicles.Capagli also questioned the paperwork authorizing the tow.
An affidavit named Allied Universal as the party requesting it, but the phone number on the document was connected to the towing operation.Capagli believes the document was forged.Allied Universal said had no such towing arrangement and was not responsible for the parking facilities.“Our services at this location only include guarding services in the lobby inside the building of one tenant.
We do not provide guarding services over the weekend and we are no...