Her roommate moved her car so a friend could take the parking spot — after it got towed for $909, she offered $100 and said 'sorry'

Nothing can strain a friendship faster than money-related disagreements, right? A woman from San Francisco who goes by u/acrogirl84 (on Reddit) experienced just that when she returned home after a two-week vacation. Well, while she was away, she'd parked her car in front of her apartment, thinking it would be safe there until she returned. But instead, the woman ended up with a severely dented car and a $909 tow bill — thanks to one of her roommates, who claimed she was doing her a "favor." The post shared on August 11, 2026 has received over 3,500 upvotes online.

The $909 surprise

The author had two roommates, and before leaving for her vacation, she'd permitted only one of them to use her car in her absence. A few days after she left, her car got hit and was dented. One of her roommates filed an insurance claim, and the author was grateful about it. "I ended up following up on the claim and learned that I would need to get a police report if I wanted the other parties' insurance to be accountable," she explained.

The author planned to do it the moment she got back home, but on the day she was supposed to arrive, there was a music festival, and another roommate's friend stayed over at her apartment. But the real problem arose when they moved the author's car from her usual parking spot to make space for the roommate's friend's car. And that's how her vehicle got towed. "They moved it to a tow-away zone, and it got towed. The cost was $909, and I was already completely overwhelmed and stressed due to flight cancellations," she explained. 

The ultimate girl math

The author told her roommate and her friend straightaway that she couldn't afford to pay the bill. Still, they did not offer to pay or help her get her car back. All they said was "sorry." The author was upset because she could have claimed insurance easily if her car had been in its original parking space. When she tried to discuss the payment with them, they claimed they moved the car because they did not want her tickets to pile up. "I only moved it because you had already gotten a ticket, and there was another meter maid actively doing rounds on Washington," the roommate told the author.

In the end, she sent her $100 and asked her to call it even since she took care of and fed her dog from Wednesday to Sunday. "I know you were originally planning to pay friend’s brother for her care, so rather than us paying each other back and forth, would you be open to just calling her food/care even?" the author's roommate asked. 

Expensive mistake

For some people, their cars are their babies, which is why they prefer to be the only person handling them. A survey (of 2,000 drivers) commissioned by Turtle Wax (published in The Sun) found that 19% of drivers do not let other people drive their car, while 21% park away from other cars to avoid any accidents. The author had given one of the roommates permission to use the car, but instead, the other roommate went behind her back and moved her car, resulting in a $909 tow bill. Now, getting a car towed is not cheap. In fact,  American Towing revealed that towing a car locally (under 5 miles) would cost about $75 to $135, while a long-distance tow (more than 50 miles) would cost around $500 to $2,000.

'Take them to court'

Meanwhile, netizens pushed the author to sue her roommate and the other friend. For example, u/goddessofspite wrote, "Approaching this from the good friendly way you have been is a mistake. People like that confuse kindness for weakness. You need to stop being so nice and polite and get tough with them. No more let’s talk or communicate or what’s your idea. Just tell them they caused this, and either they pay you back or they lose a roommate and a friend, as you will take them to court. NTA." Similarly, u/Yelsew303 added, "They stole your car. Report it to the police. It wasn't where you left it for your trip. They didn't have permission to drive it. Sounds simple to me."

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