I am sorry but I don't believe it is a scam.
There is always a sign there. Perhaps you did not see it. I agree that the bank employees could certainly have told you not to park there.
what happens often is that people take chances and park there and often they don't get towed. it all depends if the tow truck is making the rounds.
My husband , who should know better, has parked there and taken a chance and gotten towed too. they are not just out to get tourists.
parking is very very difficult in both philipsburg and Marigot, but there is no scam going on.
you were just unlucky and you got caught, I am sorry to say.

Yes , Barbara is right . I rarely take a chance though.

No, there was absolutely no sign there, but this was nov of 06 so maybe they have added one since. when we parked there, it was the only spot open, all of the other spots were taken. while we were waiting for the tow company, at the police station, to come and pick us up, another couple was waiting too. the same thing happened to them. they had parked right by us. i asked them if they saw a sign and they said no. i even told the police that there wasn't a sign and she just gave me a "blank" dumb stare. it took them about 45 minutes to tell me where my car was. HORRIBLE.
it still makes me sick. i still think that it is a SCAM to make money on the tourists.
this was our 8th year/visit to the island. we decided not to go this past year. the island has changed so much over the years. unfortunately not all for the better.

I have heard of this happening to people before. I always take cabs when I visit Phillipsburg because of the poor parking situation. I did ask a cab driver once if the towing companies just towed random cars away and he said "oh yes, it's a big racket and brings in big bucks for the tow companies". The tourists in their rental cars HAVE to get them back or they are stuck. The police do not care. It's too bad that this is the way the scummy towing companies have to make a living.

Barbara and Lesley,

I'm personally inclined to agree with both of you. We always park in the pay to park lots and we've never had a problem.

We saw a car being towed at the airport last year. The driver parked right in front of the airport in the no parking area while he took his bags into the airport to check them in. When he came back the guy with the hook was doing his thing and there was quite an argument in progress but we didn't stick around to see the outcome. Thing is, the sign clearly said no parking - we saw it and parked across the street but the guy who parked there for some reason said he didn't and tried to use that as his justification for NOT getting towed.
I'm thinking it didn't work from the sounds of what we heard.

Respectfully,

pat
:-) :-)

pat,
what does parking at the airport, in a spot where there was a sign saying NO PARKING, have to do with the parking scam in phillipsburg??
i am all for cars getting towed away for parking illegally, but not warning people (with signs) and towing them away for $$ is not right.
I am a very careful parker, and I know that people here do not believe me when I said that there was NO sign (unless the bank guards were standing in front of it covering it up) where i parked.
it sounds like i am not the only person that this has happened too, so i just want to warn fellow tourists that this is a scam to watch out for.

I was towed once, but it was because I was at a bus stop. I failed to see the sign. I think this could happen to others. I don't believe there is a scam going on. If there was, I would hope people would get the police to investigate it.

luca,

Let me say it as clearly as I can say it.

I don't believe there's a scam directed at visiting tourists. At least not one involving towing parked cars in Philipsberg.

The indication from a few residents that they're apt to get towed (and in at least one case they have....) would indicate this parking crackdown isn't something directed at tourists alone.

But I do believe tourists need to be extremely careful of where they park - and that would preferably be in one of the pay to park lots. People tend to park where they want to and hope it's okay or even - heaven forbid - some hope they might just be able to get away with it even thought they know they're in the wrong. I've gone into town later in the day when the lots were full and it's often difficult trying to find parking but I just waited and kept circling until someone left - a nuisance I know, but I know I won't get towed there so to me, it's worth the hassle.

I parked in a handicapped parking place at home once, which is something I personally would never do, having dealt with transporting handicapped parents and knowing the difficulties involved in that. I didn't see the sign but it was there, as was pointed out to me after the fact. And if it hadn't been shown to me I would have argued till the cows came home that I was in the right.

Whether you saw it or not, the chances are very good there was a sign there.

And I'm really sorry you didn't like my airport parking story.

I wish you sunny St. Maarten scam free days in the future.

Respectfully,

pat
:-) :-)

well, I still think that it is a big scam. Just the way the bank employees and "smirked"and laughed at us when we asked if they knew what happened to our car. same attitude at the police station. then we get to the towing lot and we are treated like a criminals and they just want the CASH from you. i told them there was no sign and they just laughed at us.

I'm done thinking/talking about this now. it's an unfortunate memory of st martin, but luckily i have a lot of nice memories to out weigh it. it's just too bad for the retail shops of phillipsburg, as i will always shop in maho and marigot.

A suggestion would be to take one of the local buses to Philipsburg. I did it this past trip and it couldn't have been easier and actually fun. The cost was $2.00 each way from the Maho area and I didn't have to worry about the time, traffic, nor parking. I got to shop in a leisurely pace and finally, truly enjoyed traveling to Philipsburg. That's probably the only place I would travel by the local bus vs our rental but worth it, especially if you want to leave the spouse back at the ranch to sunbathe.

I can't believe what I am reading. We have been going to the island for our fourteenth year this year. Just got back actually. We stay a month and rent a car the whole time there. We were towed a few years ago. but deserved it because we parked down toward Great bay on Front Street near the start of the stores and when we came back the car was gone. So we paid and got over it and never did it again. Yes more paid parking is a good soution but how far are people willing to walk. Start building parking garages and people will complain about paying every time you go down town.. I personally would prefer a big parking garage supervised like Maho has. We did not feel some one was out to get us.We will not park any where we are not sure of.We know when we go to town we will need time to find a spot and always do. We were lazy and didn't want to walk a little or look a little longer for a spot to park and got nabbed. It is not far from the pond area and somtimes takes a bit because town can get very busy, but no different than where we live. I have taken twenty minutes to find a spot to park at home.I have been three minutes past the pay fee and they have fined me at home. Maybe better lighting in places is lacking, and a few more police need to be visible for safety. And yes town could use more parking spaces but just don't park where you shouldn't. We go to town nearly every day when we are there. Always in mid day or early afternoon around 2:30pm to 3:00pm. Most of the time either it is pay parking in town or near the pond and we walk over. Some times way up past Rimas. We are almost 60 but we are on holidays and in beautiful weather. If anything maybe some spaces for the disabled and older people unable to walk far would be nice.
Sharon

where do the busses leave from? we stay at the p elican and would be interested instead of wrestling with parking. by the way-a couple of years ago we parked the car on the back street and a store owner came out and warned us that we were in a bus stop (paint on ground was very faded and we did not know then that that is how they mark bus stops) the following week my sister parked and was towed from a similar spot (again not realizing it was a bus stop) and when she could not find her car a store owner told her it was probably towed and took her and her husband to three different places before they found where it was and would not take any money from them for helping-so there is a different twist to the above story.

i have heard that the st martin bus system in unreliable and sketchy. we have thought about that, but didn't want to risk not getting a ride back home.

as for "joes" story, that was nice that the merchant helped you and your family out. i'm sure that the merchant wanted you to come back to the town and shop!! he probably wasn't involoved in the scam like the bank employees. who knows, maybe he knows about it and was trying to do his best to stop it.

i don't think it is ONLY targeted towards tourists, i think that ANYONE they can scam will work. the $$ is all the same to them!!!

Luca,
You are out of control and need to get a grip. There is no bank employee involved in a tow truck scam.
Every one knows about getting towed downtown. It's not about you.
Pay the dollar and park in a lot.
irina

# 1 - The national rent a car companies are not the best in St. Maarten. Use one of the local companies and you'll be much happier. We use Unity now, after trying Budget and Avis the first few years.
# 2 - If you park on the back side of Bobbies Marina in the pay lot you won't have any problems finding a spot or gettting towed. Parking on Front Street anymore is more trouble than it's worth. We used to park in the bank parking lot but it is clearly marked as private parking now and we were verbally warned our car would be towed if we left it there.

~~ Once you've slept on an island, you'll never be the same ~~
2008 St Maarten Pics