PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Those who observed it told us.
People got out of their cars at the Frederick Boulevard Walmart, went inside to shop, and by the time they came out, their cars were gone.
A car would then show up, and car owners were put in that car and taken to Always Swift Towing to get their own cars — usually leaving behind $375 in cash.
Back in December, Alison Copeland, a disabled driver who had a disabled placard to hang on the rearview mirror of her car, said her car was wrongly towed by Always Swift Towing, which had a contract to tow cars from the Walmart.
“As a shopper of Walmart, I no longer want to go to Walmart because I don’t know if my car is going to be gone,” Copeland said.
At the time, Copeland showed NewsNation affiliate 10 On Your Side a photo of her car, the company telling her that it was keeping another car from parking in the next spot.
“This is my vehicle, and this is the right side back tire and it’s crossed the line,” Copeland said, “and they indicated that it was preventing another car from parking in the next spot.”
10 On Your Side asked her if that was true? “No, I think they were wrong,” she said.
10 On Your Side also confronted Always Swift Towing, and though supervisors did not want to be seen, they came to WAVY to show us their pictures, which showed the tires were over the line into the next parking space.
“Why did we tow her? Because she was double-parked,” someone from the company said. “It’s over the line.”
But we pointed out to the supervisor that she was parked just over the line, and her point was that someone on the other side was over the line, which made her have to park over the line on the other side.
The supervisor said what Copeland said was not true.
But we asked the supervisor — she’s disabled, why not throw her a break instead of towing the car?
Said an Always Swift Towing supervisor: “We are doing what Walmart wanted us to do.”
Now, Walmart doesn’t want them to come on property. Following WAVY’s reporting, Copeland sent an email up the line.
“So, I decided to just send an e-mail to Walmart’s CEO, their head of marketing, whomever that I could find from the CEO all the way down.”
“I couldn’t sleep because of this,” Copeland said. “I wanted my money back, but I couldn’t sleep, and it gave me nightmares because it just wasn’t fair. And not just me. There were others that may not have had the money to get their car.”
10 On Your Side went back to Walmart to see store manager Jamie Cobb, who referred us to corporate. But in this email to Copeland, Cobb wrote:
“I recently received your request for reimbursement. … Please come at your convenience to receive your money.”
Said Copeland: “So, I came back, back Saturday and they did give my money back in cash, $375.” Cobb also wrote how she worked to terminate the Always Swift Towing contract.
“I worked very hard to get this contract cancelled,” Cobb wrote. “As of 12/24/24 they are no longer allowed on property.”
Proof of that? Gone are the “towing enforced signs” and “vehicles will be impounded to Always Swift Towing.”
Copeland teed off on the towing.
“I’m thinking about a civil lawsuit because I get upset about it,” Copeland said. “I’m upset and it is much deeper than the $375, because it appears to be a target towards the handicapped.”
Copeland added this on speaking out: “Just don’t give up. If you feel you’ve been done wrong [and] something’s not right, speak up, stand up [and] don’t give up, because that’s why we’re here. Don’t give up.”
She also said this about 10 On Your Side.
“I mean what you did was huge,” she said, “… and I’m really grateful. With all the people who email you, you chose me. I just felt like somebody has to stand up for what’s right. And I know that, you and 10 On Your Side is all about telling what’s right.”
