You know that ugly feeling…

I’m talking about that sinking pit in your stomach when you realize that your car got towed away or is about to hauled to a yard where you’ll have to fork over major bucks to set your vehicle free.

It sucks!

And having to pay off a tow truck driver when they’re about to take your car away isn’t pleasant either…and it’ll cost you a pretty penny.

In this story, a person isn’t too happy that their co-worker asked them to fork over some money to help pay off a tow truck driver who was about to remove their car from a lot.

Yeah, you can probably see where the resentment in this story is coming from…

Read on and get all the details below.

AITA if I had not agreed to split the cost for our car almost getting towed?

“Me and two other coworkers went out for lunch. My coworker was driving, and we parked in one of those “towing enforced” lots specific for the shopping center.

The lunch place was part of that parking lot but afterwards, after dropping off our leftovers in the car, we walked to a desert place next door that was technically part of a different shopping center with it’s own parking.

These tow truck drivers in shopping centers don’t play around!

We were only at the second place for maybe 30 minutes, but on the way out a tow truck was already at his car and halfway done hooking it up for towing.

I’m pretty sure this was one of those predatory towing companies that patrol their enforcement locations and tow people any chance they can get.

It definitely was not the establishments there that called them, as we did patronize them and the lot wasn’t even half full. There are a lot of them in that area, they even tow you if you park after hours in an empty lot.

These guys definitely like to get their palms greased…which can be a bit shady.

Anyways, we rushed over and stopped the guy from finishing the towing but he said we still had to pay him the full towing fee of $250 since he had already came out.

I was pretty upset, but my coworker is very non-confrontational immediately agreed and paid him. I didn’t say anything since it wasn’t my car.

Afterwards, my co-worker asked us to split the towing fee with him since we had collectively decided to go grab dessert in another lot. I agreed, since I value harmony in my workplace more, and since the other coworker had already agreed.

You can see why they’d have second thoughts about this…

But this incident has been nagging me.

My questions are:

WIHBTA if I had refused to split the towing bill, especially since he didn’t even attempt to reason with the towing guy, and didn’t ask the rest of us beforehand our opinion of the situation or if we were ok splitting it?

WIHBTA if I had stood up to the towing guy, and told them that we aren’t paying, show him proof that we went to the establishment that’s part of this parking lot, etc.

Taking into consideration that it’s not my car and I would be “speaking” for my coworker and possibly making a scene.

As a bonus question for those more familiar with these situations, what would have likely happened if we refused to pay the towing guy?

Would the guy give up and let us go, or would it escalate to calling the cops?

Would we likely be forced to pay anyway, since we technically did leave that shopping center?”

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man who refused to keep giving his coworker rides to work because he left a mess in his car.

Reddit users spoke up.

This reader said they’re NTA.

Another individual shared their thoughts.

This Reddit user weighed in.

Another reader spoke up.

And this individual shared their thoughts.

One of the main rules I had drilled into my head when I first started driving was that I should always pay close attention to where I parked my car so I’d hopefully avoid situation like the one you just read about.

And, secondly, walking out of a parking lot with signs that clearly let you know what’s gonna happen if you leave, even for a few minutes, is never a good idea.

Oh well, I guess some people have to learn the hard way.

It is kind of a big ask to request money from someone after your car almost got towed and you had to pay off the driver…