The next time you go out for a night on the town in South Beach, double check where you park your car.
That's because drivers claim the already bad parking situation on the beach is being made even worse by tow-happy garages.
"I think the towing company is making money and I think the owner is trying to make money as well," said JR Diaz.
Diaz said his night on South Beach was ruined when his car was damaged while being towed without warning from a parking garage.
He claims he picked one of the many empty spaces in the garage and came to pay at the parking machine.
"I went to the parking meter, I attempted to use my credit card, the credit card didn't work. I tried to use cash. The cash wasn't working.
So I left my car at the lot," Diaz said.
Diaz says he returned two hours later and his car was gone. A big yellow sticker was slapped on the window, a violation notice claimed he didn't pay. The end result: a $215 charge.
"I thought worst case scenario, if anything, I would get some kind of a warning or a ticket, I never thought my car would get towed away," Diaz said. "I don't think it was fair."
Another South Florida businessman dealt with an identical story at the parking garage. He claims he parked his car in one of the solicited spaces. He went to pay and the machine was broken. And a short time later, he showed up, his car was gone. It was towed. And it also cost him $215 to get it back.
In all, six complaints have been filed in recent months against the parking garage after cars were towed without warning.
"The machines are always broken and I'm always afraid I'll get towed," said Rivkah Simon. "Every single one of them is broken all of the time."
The garage signs say public parking -- the machines here are identical to the ones in on the public street and public lots -- and most people seem to think the garage is operated by the city.
It's not really owned by the city of Miami Beach, but rather a private company, the Gumenick corporation.
"I certainly thought I was parking in a public parking garage," Diaz said.
There are signs up indicating you could be towed, but parkers say nothing to indicate it could happen without warning.
Miami Beach said the city does not have any further authority and Florida state law permits a private property owner to tow vehicles without liability and without consent.
Gumenick Properties said they receive no profits from towing, provide 24-hour assistance if the machines do not work, tow vehicles due to prior abuses, and clearly warn parkers they could be towed.
Parking experts say be careful and watch out. The parking ticket machines can be leased to the owners of private parking lots, where the towing rules are completely different than those owned by the city.
