Waldport Warning

Some friends and I spent the weekend in Waldport, OR camping and fishing. The local towing company has a little scamola going where they tow unsuspecting out-of-towners from anywhere they might park. We parked four cars in on a dead end road, no signs of any kind, and went across the highway to the beach for about six hours. When we came back, the cars were gone, no idea where they were. Called the sheriff's department, told us they were probably towed, "happens all the time", but they couldn't tell us who towed them. Took half the next day to track down the towing company, who charged us $250 per car, cash, no receipt.
I recommend you drive straight though Waldport without stopping. Anywhere you park is a "no parking" zone. I'll never go back there again.

What a shame!  Maybe a note to the local C of C and the local paper might help put a stop to the scam.

Here's the contact info for the Waldport Chamber of commerce:

chamber@peak.org

   I copied your post (minus your ID) and sent it to this email addy, why not sent a few more?

What a shame!  Maybe a note to the local C of C and the local paper might help put a stop to the scam.

Or do a little sting operation.  Take video of the area showing no signs, park your car and "pretend" to disappear for the day.  Then when you hear them show up, walk right up to the car and get in.  If they fight you, tell them to call the police, or better yet, dial it for them (all while on video).  If they continue hooking up regardless of the police call threat, consider them stealing your car, and begin calling the police as well as fight them off as if they are car thief's. 

Some of these coastal towns are backasswards in their tourism money making department. 

Called the sheriff's department, told us they were probably towed, "happens all the time", but they couldn't tell us who towed them. Took half the next day to track down the towing company, who charged us $250 per car, cash, no receipt.

Did you write any of this down and can you get me the name of the towing company and where you were parked when towed?  PM it to me please.

Some of these coastal towns are backasswards in their tourism money making department. 

I'd venture to guess this isn't Waldport doing this.  But I need more details to find out.

Here's the contact info for the Waldport Chamber of commerce:

chamber@peak.org

   I copied your post (minus your ID) and sent it to this email addy, why not sent a few more?

Done

ya they ran this same sort of scam down in daytona beach by the water all the time...accept they would post signs but they would post them behind a tree limb or in a very dark place at night where there is no way u could see them unless you shined a light or happened to walk to the very back of a parking lot for watever reason...125$ and let me tell  you when i went to get my truck out they pulled in 3 cars in the 15 minutes i was there...not to mention i wasn't in the bar for 15 minutes before the bartender came around the corner and said whos black truck is outside...of course i said mine...they are towing it...by the time i get out there its gone...now i know i will search a parking lot with a flash light and hedge shears before i park there lol...they did this all along the coast line

and they only take cash only...exact change if you give them anything but exact change they won't give your car back unless you tell them to keep the change

Yes, it is a shame that the county sheriffs department allows this to happen. I mean there were no "No Parking" signs and there was no way to find out who had towed the cars or where they were. The fact we had to "wheel and deal" with the guy to return the cars, he would not tell us where the "impounded" cars were(no impound lot address was given) and we had to pay cash are clear signs of an illegal towing operation. Since the sheriff knows about this and refused to do anything raises real questions about the integrity of law enforcement in that county.
My friends have already contacted their attorneys and are planning legal action against the towing company. They are also planning to file a complaint against the sheriffs department.
It is unfortunate that this small community has taken the "hick town" approach of fleecing unsuspecting visitors. Everywhere we have gone in Oregon, especially the smaller towns, have welcomed me and my kayaking and mountain biking friends everywhere we have gone. This is the first time anything like this has happened, perhaps that's why it seems so bad.
While I would steer clear of Waldport, that is the only place in Oregon I would avoid.

I wonder if a call to a State Sheriff to come down and help you bid on your car's release would have done anything to help ya?  Beingst that the state sheriff probably wouldn't be in on the scam.   

What about the IRS?  Cash only, no receipt, sounds like some one's business needs an audit . . .  Do they have a business license?  Insurance?  Bonded?  Maybe file a complaint with the better business bureau.  Probably won't do any good until enough people start making waves. 

I wrote them a pretty harsh E-Mail regarding this issue.Two different people replied saying they are investigating. They need some more info from you ronbo. I'll private you the replies i got

I am a retired volunteer working at the Waldport Chamber of Commerce.  If I have accurate information regarding when the towing occurred, where and by what company, I can do my best to put a stop to this nonsense.  Are you sure you were in Waldport?  Could this have been out of the City Limits?  We are a vary small town and I have lived here since 1945.  Please contact me with any information useful so I can contact the tow company.

Thanks for all your attention regarding this issue.
As I mentioned, this is this the first time any of us had been to the Waldport area so we are not familiar with the exact boundries of city and county. I know for sure the parking lot the cars were towed from Federal property. We were camped at Tillicum Campground, the parking lot was directly across the highway. It was Labor Day weekend, there was nobody around, no "No Parking" signs, we figured it would not be an issue to park there overnight.
It was tough to find out who had towed the cars. The towing company guy would not identify himself, the company, or where the impound lot was. He demanded cash, no reciept. I think the guys whose cars were towed eventually got reciepts, but I'm not sure if there were legit.
I'm out of town, I'll be back Monday and I'll try to get more info.
Again, thanks for all of your concern. This was a raw deal, nobody should have to deal with something like this.

Just got back from vacation, and was reading through the posts.  This is total bullshart.  Any resolution ever come from this?  Sorry to hear that you got so mistreated; I hope they get their's in the end.  Updates?