Your point of view

[nolow]

What is the name of your state?FL

I posted this on another thread, but I was hoping to get the point of view from landlords. My car was towed from my apartment complex today, and I had to pay a large fee to get it out. There is a roam towing sign out at the front of the complex, but I was wondering if there was a legitimate reason for towing it. The reasoning behind the tow was a expired tag. I'm selling the car and my phone number was posted all over the vehicle, but they didn't even post a warning or anything. The parking lot is a private lot and the manager called it into the tow company. Do they need to get the complex to sign for the tow, or can the just roam tow it? The apartment complex denies they called it in, but when I picked up the car the receipt says called in by apartment. I could see if I was parked in a no parking zone or something, but it was for an expired tag. Shouldn't they have called the police to find out if the registration was current, instead of looking at the sticker?

Sorry for all the questions....

[treese]

What does your lease state regarding parking, rules and regulations?

My lease states that all vehicles must be operable, properly registered and insured or the vehicle will be towed at the owner's expense.

If the tag was not expired, the new sticker should have been in place.

[nolow]

Yeah, I figured it all out today. There has been a lot of negative publicity in the papers about roam towing in my area. A wrecker service towed 40 vehicles out of one lot during an event in my area. Ultimately, they had to refund the money because the signs didn't conform to Florida statutes/ local ordinances. The tow companies are continually trying to push for the fees to be raised. They can only charge a fixed fee currently when a vehicle is towed under roam towing. I called the local PD to find out how I could check local ordinances pertaining to this matter, and I was directed to a cop that just deals with these complaints. They can't really if it involves a civil matter; they only step in when cars are being towed illegally. Well, I looked through my lease and it does say abandoned cars will be towed, and an expired tag is considered to imply that the car is abandoned. The only reason I was getting frustrated about the whole ordeal was because the car is for sale and has my number written on the windshield. Since the apartment complex doesn't get any monetary gain from towed vehicles, I assumed they would call the number to find out if I resided there (no decals are required to park). The manager said that the car was roam towed, but my receipt says that it was called in by the apartment complex. They knew it wasn't an abandoned car, so I don't understand why they would try to hurt residents financially by calling it in. I even parked the car away from the buildings where nobody parks. The sad thing is there was a car parked a handicap spot twenty feet from my vehicle with no tag, but they chose my car. Well, I can't do anything about it but complain about it and not renew my lease. And I don't think I'll be doing anymore of the former. The officer told me, after doing some research, that if the lease says red cars will be towed at the owner's expense, then they can tow these vehicles under contract with the property owners. It is their property.

Originally Posted by treese

What does your lease state regarding parking, rules and regulations?

My lease states that all vehicles must be operable, properly registered and insured or the vehicle will be towed at the owner's expense.

If the tag was not expired, the new sticker should have been in place.