A fox terrier was allegedly left in a car for more than 90 minutes after it was towed from a controversial Mt Eden car park by a company accused of “preying upon” unsuspecting drivers.

The parking spaces are directly within a wider supermarket car parking area, leading to confusion for the public.

A North Taranaki woman who wished to remain anonymous told the Herald she and her partner had been visiting family in Auckland last year and were out for dinner on Dominion Rd.

“We parked the car, had our little dog in the car, and I told my husband that I wasn’t sure this was legal,” she said.

“So we moved the car several spaces to where we thought we were going to be legal. We thought we were diligent, we thought we were law-abiding.”

The woman said they spent 45 minutes in the restaurant then came out to find their car was gone.

“It was dark, raining, we were unfamiliar with the place and, the worst part of it was that there was no dog.”

Bella, a fox terrier was inside a car owned by a North Taranaki woman when it was towed from the Mt Eden Countdown supermarket car park in July 2023. Photo / supplied

The pair then found an “indistinct” sign that “was almost impossible to see”.

A friend drove them to the Symonds St lot where their car and dog were being held.

“We tried to plead our case and said there was absolutely no way that tiny little notice, that was old, bent and faded, would have given us an indication that we were not parking legally,” she said.

“But they had no time for us whatsoever. We asked if they knew they had towed a car away with our little dog in it. They just didn’t seem to care.”

The pair located the car about 90 minutes later, paid the fine and left Auckland the next day.

“By that stage, you have such a horrible taste in your mouth, you just want to get out of there.”

The North Taranaki woman said the dog was okay, if a little disorientated after the ordeal.

“But when they tow a car, they get it up at quite an angle so I imagine she must have been thrown around the car quite significantly.”

She said the towing company didn’t seem to care when they informed them a 6kg fox terrier was in the back of the towed car.

“She was still in the back of the car. They hadn’t bothered to check.”

A local restaurant told the Herald they frequently have to warn customers to stay away from that section of the car park.

“We’ve had at least six guests dining with us have to sprint from the venue to try and stop the tow truck after not seeing signage,” they said.

Car parking sensors and signage at the Countdown Car Park in Mt Eden. Photo / Dean Purcell

“(It is a) weekly occurrence for us and really sad for a locally-owned business to have our customers’ visit ruined by this.”

She said restaurant staff often see the tow truck circling the block at least twice a day.

Epsom MP David Seymour said it’s a well-known problem in the area, and some people may think the operators were more interested in collecting revenue than keeping people off the patrolled property.

“My challenge to them is to use bigger signs and make it really clear they don’t want people to park there.”

A Woolworths spokesperson said they lease car parks in Eden Quarter for customers.

“Other sections of the car park in Eden Quarter are privately owned and leased to neighbouring shops. Some of these sections, while leased to other businesses, are within the bounds of the Woolworths Mount Eden customer parking lot.

“This can be a confusing situation for our customers, and we’ve been working with our landlord and other businesses to resolve this following recent feedback.

“Our property team has been in contact with our landlord at Eden Quarter and they are installing better signage and yellow lines. We hope this will make the car park clearer for customers and the tow away areas easier to identify.

“We anticipate that these changes will be complete soon and apologise to our customers for any inconvenience.”

Supercity Towing was contacted for comment but did not respond.