Car Towed!!!

MacCool · 08-15-2011, 07:11 AM

Don't call 911, that's for emergencies. Look in a phone book or on the internet and you'll find their phone number.

You can call the police but probably won't accomplish anything...no crime has been committed. And if you were parked in a marked fire lane, knowlingly get towed, and report it stolen, you could be charged with false reporting. They didn't steal your car, you're the one that broke the law.

This is a civil matter. You're at a disadvantage because this probably has never happened to you before but the towing company deals with this on a regular basis. If you can prove damage occurred during the towing (cell phone photos, video, or witnesses), then you can take them to court. You can hire a lawyer to do that, but it will be expensive to do so. If the damage estimate is below your local max amount for small claims court, you can do that too and the only money you're out is the filing fee and the towing company has to pay that if the judge finds them negligent. But as I said, this is not the first time they've dealt with this so if you do go to court you'd better have your case really nailed down with photos, timeline, witnesses---a well-organized and well-presented case. You will have to prove that they damaged your car. If you can't do so in a logical, rational manner, the towing company will eat your lunch in court.

However, maybe the towing company is a stand-up company. Maybe the owner will recognize and acknowledge that the driver screwed up in towing your car improperly and will negotiate reimbursement with you. So don't go in to them with guns blazing, be calm and cooperative. Take your photos, and damage estimate to him along with a recap of what happened and tell them you need to file a claim because the driver towed your car wrong and damaged it. Don't get all pissy with them for towing the car because they were just doing their job. The fact that they did it badly is the nature your claim.

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08-15-2011, 07:11 AM	#20 (permalink)
MacCool A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Midwest Posts: 1,349 Drives: 370Z PW 2014 Rep Power: 18	Don't call 911, that's for emergencies. Look in a phone book or on the internet and you'll find their phone number. You can call the police but probably won't accomplish anything...no crime has been committed. And if you were parked in a marked fire lane, knowlingly get towed, and report it stolen, you could be charged with false reporting. They didn't steal your car, you're the one that broke the law. This is a civil matter. You're at a disadvantage because this probably has never happened to you before but the towing company deals with this on a regular basis. If you can prove damage occurred during the towing (cell phone photos, video, or witnesses), then you can take them to court. You can hire a lawyer to do that, but it will be expensive to do so. If the damage estimate is below your local max amount for small claims court, you can do that too and the only money you're out is the filing fee and the towing company has to pay that if the judge finds them negligent. But as I said, this is not the first time they've dealt with this so if you do go to court you'd better have your case really nailed down with photos, timeline, witnesses---a well-organized and well-presented case. You will have to prove that they damaged your car. If you can't do so in a logical, rational manner, the towing company will eat your lunch in court. However, maybe the towing company is a stand-up company. Maybe the owner will recognize and acknowledge that the driver screwed up in towing your car improperly and will negotiate reimbursement with you. So don't go in to them with guns blazing, be calm and cooperative. Take your photos, and damage estimate to him along with a recap of what happened and tell them you need to file a claim because the driver towed your car wrong and damaged it. Don't get all pissy with them for towing the car because they were just doing their job. The fact that they did it badly is the nature your claim.