SAN ANTONIO — Sabrina Vega was excited to take her two kids to the Shops at Rivercenter the last Saturday in September. Vega parked at 3:06 p.m. and walked out two hours later. Unfortunately, that’s when her weekend took a bad turn.
Her car was gone.
“I walked around and looked for my car and was like, ‘maybe someone took it.’” Vega said. “I then called 911 and they told me that my car was towed.”
As Vega walked back through the parking lot, she realized she wasn’t the only tourist angry with the parking situation. She said she found an entire group of people also wondering where their rides went.
“I saw these other people and there were quite a few families that were left here in the parking lot wondering where their vehicles were,” Vega said.
An SAPD police officer responded and the tourists decided they wanted to make a report.
According to that Police report, one of the tourist’s vehicles was confirmed to be towed 18 minutes before its parking time had expired.
Police could not prove Vega’s vehicle was towed early. However, the police report stated Vega’s vehicle was reported by a towing company as being towed at 5:27 p.m. The report also showed Vega was already calling the police at 5:27 p.m.
At the end of the report the officer also wrote, “I advised all parties that the towing company is known for towing early, or grabbing the vehicle as its time is going to expire.”
Unfortunately, the officer also wrote that the towing complaints would be a civil matter so there was nothing SAPD could do. The report confirmed the lot belonged to a company named Platinum Parking. Vega said that company needed to address the issue.
“Somebody needs to be held accountable,” Vega said. “This town is full of tourists. Everyone comes to explore San Antonio…This needs to be stopped.”
KENS 5 called the local Platinum Parking office and left multiple messages for District Manager Albert Cuellar over several days. KENS 5 also emailed Cuellar multiple times and even visited the local Platinum Parking office at Shops at Rivercenter. Cuellar was never available and never returned our calls or emails.
KENS 5 also emailed other Platinum Parking Offices in Houston, Austin, and Dallas but those offices did not contact us back either.
Vega the situation has just left tourists frustrated.
“They need to take responsibility. It’s their property and they are just hurting the people,” Vega said.
KENS 5 will now be asking City of San Antonio leaders if they can provide a solution to this issue.
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