ATLANTA — An Atlanta driver sent Channel 2 Action News pictures showing the damage to his car after he said it was stolen from a valet.
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In February, Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln reported on a couple who waited months to get their Rolls Royce SUV back after a Buckhead hotel valet gave the wrong person the keys.
Lincoln was in Buckhead Monday, where car thefts at valets seem to be a recurring problem.
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This is the fifth driver to reach out to Lincoln after saying their car was stolen by a valet attendee that works for LAZ Parking. In this case, the driver, Corwin Tuggles, said he was owed thousands of dollars and received a bad check from the company.
Tuggles said he had to spend thousands on repairs after a valet attendant stole his car to go on a joy ride. The employee crashed the car 40 miles away.
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“This could have ruined me, having to spend so much money in one setting,” Tuggles said. “I don’t think this is a trustworthy company.”
Tuggles said in 2022, he left his car with the valet at a downtown Atlanta hotel after recently moving from New York.
In the middle of the night, he awoke to several missed calls from hotel management.
“I finally called down to the front desk,” Tuggles said. “That’s when one of their workers had stolen the car.”
Tuggles said when he got the car back, items were missing and the car wouldn’t start. He learned that the valet attendant used his car to do donuts along Lithonia Industrial Boulevard before causing engine damage.
“The car was still fairly brand new,” Tuggles said.
He took Laz Parking to court and the company agreed to pay Tuggles $20,000 in damages. But he said the check bounced.
“When they had given me a check that was a fraudulent check that I thought was bizarre,” Tuggles said.
Last fall, Channel 2 Action News shared other stories of drivers who said LAZ valet attendants stole their cars.
Sena Ware said someone stole her Rolls Royce.
“It’s negligence on both the hotel and on LAZ,” Ware said.
Lincoln sent multiple emails to LAZ Parking about all the cases. They issued a statement, saying.
“LAZ Parking’s utmost priority is our customers, employees, and clients’ safety and security. The customer, Mr. Tuggles, was made whole in 2023. Due to the recent uptick in area car thefts, security has been enhanced at LAZ’s Atlanta locations. We will continue to work with local law enforcement.”
Tuggles told Lincoln he wasn’t made whole. He says when he deposited the check his bank froze his account because the check was bad. He says he hasn’t been able to access of dime of that settlement money.
The company’s attorney did respond to the judge in the case, saying the bad check was user error.
The judge disagreed and set court for trial.
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