Theft victim hit with hefty fee to get stolen car back
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MILL CREEK, Wash. -- Until very recently, life was looking bleak for Kat Scott of Mukilteo.
First she lost her job, and then her car was stolen from her parking lot.
Then, just to add a bit of insult to injury, Scott was told she'd have to pay nearly $2,000 to get her recovered car out of hock.
That's when she contacted the Problem Solvers for help.
For the past two weeks, Scott's 2005 Dodge Stratus -- her last valuable asset -- has been sitting in a tow lot, in limbo. She had no way of getting it out, and she was running out of options.
Scott said she was devastated when she learned her car had been stolen last December. Then, last month, the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office called to say they'd recovered the car and it was safely at their south precinct impound yard.
"I was so excited," Scott said. "My kids were giving me high fives, my grandkids were giving me high fives. We were all excited."
Detectives told Scott she couldn't pick the car up that night because it needed to be fingerprinted for evidence. She didn't mind the wait, and she kept calling to see when it would be ready.
"Each time I called, I verified that it's not gonna get towed and it's not gonna cost me anything to pick up," she said.
But the last time she called the precinct she got a completely different story. She learned that her car had been towed.
In a message left for her, a detective told Scott: "I apologize. I thought we left you a message." The detective went on to say he was sorry about the "miscommunication."
In the end, Scott was left with a $1,000 tow bill that was growing by $100 each day she didn't pick it up.
"It might as well have been a million (dollars)," Scott said of the bill.
The Problem Solvers contacted the sheriff's office, and they said they'd immediately get to the bottom of it.
"We're gonna try to make the situation right," said Chief Kevin Prentiss. "Mistakes happen. And mistakes probably happened in this (case), and I'm not at the point where I can say where the mistakes were made and by whom."
Less than three hours later, a representative from the sheriff's office showed up at the tow yard to pay Scott's bill in full. An hour later, an ecstatic and appreciative Scott was driving home.
"Thank you, thank you Problem Solvers. Thank you," she said.
Scott also wanted to thank the sheriff's office for doing what she considered the right thing. Prentiss said nobody from the south precinct could remember exactly what they'd told Scott, so paying the tow bill just seemed like the right thing to do.
First she lost her job, and then her car was stolen from her parking lot.
Then, just to add a bit of insult to injury, Scott was told she'd have to pay nearly $2,000 to get her recovered car out of hock.
That's when she contacted the Problem Solvers for help.
For the past two weeks, Scott's 2005 Dodge Stratus -- her last valuable asset -- has been sitting in a tow lot, in limbo. She had no way of getting it out, and she was running out of options.
Scott said she was devastated when she learned her car had been stolen last December. Then, last month, the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office called to say they'd recovered the car and it was safely at their south precinct impound yard.
"I was so excited," Scott said. "My kids were giving me high fives, my grandkids were giving me high fives. We were all excited."
Detectives told Scott she couldn't pick the car up that night because it needed to be fingerprinted for evidence. She didn't mind the wait, and she kept calling to see when it would be ready.
"Each time I called, I verified that it's not gonna get towed and it's not gonna cost me anything to pick up," she said.
But the last time she called the precinct she got a completely different story. She learned that her car had been towed.
In a message left for her, a detective told Scott: "I apologize. I thought we left you a message." The detective went on to say he was sorry about the "miscommunication."
In the end, Scott was left with a $1,000 tow bill that was growing by $100 each day she didn't pick it up.
"It might as well have been a million (dollars)," Scott said of the bill.
The Problem Solvers contacted the sheriff's office, and they said they'd immediately get to the bottom of it.
"We're gonna try to make the situation right," said Chief Kevin Prentiss. "Mistakes happen. And mistakes probably happened in this (case), and I'm not at the point where I can say where the mistakes were made and by whom."
Less than three hours later, a representative from the sheriff's office showed up at the tow yard to pay Scott's bill in full. An hour later, an ecstatic and appreciative Scott was driving home.
"Thank you, thank you Problem Solvers. Thank you," she said.
Scott also wanted to thank the sheriff's office for doing what she considered the right thing. Prentiss said nobody from the south precinct could remember exactly what they'd told Scott, so paying the tow bill just seemed like the right thing to do.
