Christchurch diners have slammed “extortionate” towing practices at a Riccarton Road food complex, but the towing company has defended its approach.

Multiple patrons reported being towed after parking in spaces designated for Ancestral Restaurant, with some alleging insufficient signage and others questioning the severity of the towing response and high fees.

One diner told chrislynchmedia.com, “I made a mistake and parked incorrectly. I happily admitted this,” he said. “But I was towed within 10 minutes without a breach notice, despite many of their carparks being free. Also, Ancestral was quiet, with one family dining there.”

He described the swift towing as “outrageous” and claimed there was a business arrangement between Ancestral Restaurant and Towman Towing, a claim rejected by the company.

“There was a towing vehicle on a side street near the food complex. This explained the rapid towing response time,” he said. “With an insanely high collection fee of $448.50.”

The man said his attempts to obtain an invoice for the fee were unsuccessful. “They refused to provide an invoice, which I needed to find out why the collection fee was $450,” he said.

Another diner recounted a similar experience after visiting Muk Bang Korean BBQ restaurant. “When we parked, I noticed a woman watching us, but I thought she was just another customer. Later that night, when we came out, my car was gone.”

The same woman approached her and revealed the car had been towed for parking in a space designated for Ancestral Restaurant. “She clearly worked for the towing company because I saw her helping clamp and tow other cars in the same spot within minutes.”

She said retrieving her car turned into an ordeal. “We wanted to wait until the next day to avoid the after-hours fee, but our house keys were in the car. When I asked if I could get the keys, the guy just laughed and said no unless we paid the full $450 that night.”

“He joked about how expensive the night had become for us. It was incredibly upsetting,” she said.

Another motorist reported being towed from the same car park.

“We had two vehicles towed from the shared parking lot at 35E Riccarton Road by Towman Towing on behalf of Ancestral Restaurant. The fee was $448.50 per car. One of the cars even had a clamp notice on the window, but neither driver was given any warning despite the operators knowing where we were,” he said.

He also witnessed a young woman having her car clamped within five minutes of arriving at the complex. “She was being charged $100 and was in a heated dispute with the on-site parking enforcement,” he said.

Another diner described being clamped after parking for just 10 minutes. “My partner and I parked there to pick up waffles at 7:30pm on a Tuesday—hardly a peak time, and the car park was empty. When we returned, our car was clamped and stickered, and we were forced to pay $100 to have the clamp removed. The woman told me they do this to everyone—it’s extortion!”

A review on Google echoed these frustrations. “They’re clearly running some kind of extortion scheme with body corp. The staff who clamped my car breached many articles from the Code of Practice for Parking Enforcement on Private Land. They refused to provide ID, were not wearing any identifiable staff uniforms, and did not allow a reasonable grace period,” the review read.

 

 

However, the towing company also received positive reviews on Google, particularly for its breakdown and recovery services.

In New Zealand, towing a vehicle from private property is legally permissible under certain conditions. The “Code of Practice for Parking Enforcement on Private Land” advises that “issuing a breach notice should be the primary enforcement tool” to allow motorists to challenge alleged unauthorised parking and reduce confrontation.

Towing is recommended only when the vehicle is causing a major obstruction, poses a danger, is parked incorrectly or in a reserved space, is a repeat offender, or is abandoned.

Towman Towing’s Steve Saul told chrislynchmedia.com “we don’t decide who gets towed from the Ancestral Restaurant carpark, they do.

“There’s a massive problem in that shopping complex  where all the shops owners’ staff park in their own car parks leaving no where for their customers to park.” 

Saul said “Ancestral has tried to talk with the corporate body to do something about, it  but they don’t want to do anything.”

Saul said it takes longer than 10 minutes to drive from the yard to Ancestral, disputing claims that they were towing straight away.  

“Yes we charge $350+gst for an illegally parked car  and if it’s after hours and someone has to go to the office and release the car, we charge an hour after gate opening fee of $40=l + gst 

He said there were plenty of signs clearly saying motorists will be towed or clamped.

“Theses parks are for Ancestral Restaurant customers only but they still park there. There is no financial arrangement with the restaurant, he said.

He rejected claims by diners that the towing fee was extortion. “Well I don’t think so. If you park in a disabled car park not displaying your card it costs $750.

He said “in fairness Ancestral clamp the cars and call us to say they have clamped a car we will send someone down to unclamp and most of the time if no one has come out to there car then Ancestral ask us to tow it.”

A Consumer NZ spokesperson said “the courts have suggested tow truck companies should only charge for the expenses they reasonably incur in towing an unlawfully parked vehicle.

“$450 is a big chunk of cash, so consumers could challenge this at the Disputes Tribunal.”

This article is the intellectual property of Chris Lynch Media Limited. Use of this content in any form without prior written consent is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact [email protected].