California concertgoers fall prey to cruel tactic as cars vanish from parking lot

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Some Sacramento concertgoers found themselves facing a $562 headache after returning to parking lots after a music fest to discover their cars had vanished — with one festivalgoer claiming he got back a vehicle so badly damaged he can no longer drive it.

Bruce Capagli is among a growing number of drivers questioning the legitimacy of a towing operation that directed motorists to an unmarked dirt lot to reclaim their vehicles after being questionably towed while attending the Aftershock rock festival, CBS Sacramento reported.

The operation used the name J&B Towing on its paperwork, but questions about its licensing and towing authorization remain unanswered.

Capagli’s ordeal began after he parked in a lot on Bercut Drive to attend the festival. When he returned, his car was missing, and a temporary sign directed him to call a phone number.

Rather than explaining what happened, the person who answered gave him an address on Del Paso Boulevard.

That address was tied shared office with an auto body shop — not where Capagli ultimately collected his car. He said he was transported in a white Honda Civic to a dirt field in a residential neighborhood.

“I knew something was up when we saw a rig that was a Lincoln Navigator with a trailer pulling another car off the lot,” Capagli told CBS.

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The pickup location had no signage identifying a towing business. Drivers were nevertheless presented with preprinted receipts demanding $562 to retrieve their vehicles.

Capagli also questioned the paperwork authorizing the tow. An affidavit named Allied Universal as the party requesting it, but the phone number on the document was connected to the towing operation. Capagli believes the document was forged.

The receipts themselves raised further concerns for Capagli, who said they omitted the vehicle identification number and the times the car was towed and released.

He eventually recovered his vehicle, but claims that damage left it undriveable. His insurance company is treating the incident as a stolen vehicle rather than a tow involving damage, he said.

Other motorists have described similar experiences, including the same phone-number detour and $562 charge.

Drivers also provided receipts bearing the J&B Towing name for incidents in other Sacramento locations and on different days.

The company’s owner told CBS on Friday that the business was legitimate but provided no license number, declined interviews and failed to supply requested licensing documents.