Woman upset with Chicago finance department after car was towed overnight; want a refund

CHICAGO (SCS) — A woman’s fight to get her car back from the city that towed her away in the middle of the night. But according to her, she was given another day to pay her fines, but was towed anyway.

She tells her story at Steven’s Graves from CBS 2.

“My little Corolla was right here.”

Until Dee Cummings said early this morning in Humboldt Park on Drake Avenue, before the sun even rose, her husband noticed they were towing his car.

“I was upset. I was upset, yeah, to say the least,” Cummings said.

This reaction because in the previous days a back-and-forth with the Chicago finance department after the city started its car two days ago for two late ticket payments.

“Everything I was told on the phone was the same thing that was emailed to me, letting me know I had until October 8,” Cummings said.

In the email, it says she needs to start her payment plan by October 8 in person, and she thought she had until the end of the business.

“My intention was to make it happen today,” Cummings said.

The city’s streets and sanitation department confirms that they impounded her vehicle around 1:30 a.m., and now she is paying more fees.

“Instead of just $125, I’m at $275.”

The city’s finance department, in a statement, told CBS 2 that people have 24 hours to put down a deposit after starting, or tow the car, and a sticker says so. It also indicates if an extension is granted, which was the case in this case, the motorist has 48 hours from the installation of the trunk on the vehicle to take the necessary measures.

Cummings says she didn’t ask for an extension, adding to the confusion.

They could not explain why the email she received listed the date as October 8 and no mention of an exact time for the deadline.

That means they could put it on and take your car while you sleep.

But Cummings now wants a refund.

“I have hope because I need my car. I just have to do what I have to do. I just want other people to know,” Cummings said.

Hoping they can learn from his towing story.