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My car got towed in a reserved parking space that we were told we can park....?

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vMike26

Junior Member
Michigan

well this is my problem i work for a company that cleans parking structures with power washers i been doing this for about 1 month now and we do about 7 parking structures every year. So the boss told us we may park any where in the reserved parking space so we don't have to pay the 2$ fee to get into the structure. Well i been at this spot for about 4 days and the 5th day my car got towed, while i was parked in the reserved parking spaces that we were told to park in. Should the company pay to get my car out the impound lot because clearly i was told by the boss to park anywhere in the reserved parking spots. The boss said that he will talk to his boss and see whats going on. But in all honesty its not my fault that my car got towed.. Its there fault. Can i peruse legal action if they make me pay to get my car out the impound lot which is about 300$?



the thing is they told me i may park there so its not my fault at all they should pay to get my car out the impound lot or reimburse me because either way i have need my car today. and im not gonna wait on them all day to see whats happening. But if they don't want to reimburse me can i file legal action towards the company. And to make matters worst i had my sun roof opened in the parking structure and it thunder stormed so yeah good fight interior..
 


justalayman

Senior Member
go get your car and then present the receipt to your boss for reimbursement. As long as you followed his directive (I have a funny feeling his version will be a bit different if they do not want to pay the tow), he is liable for the costs. He represented himself to you as having the authority allow you to park there and his actions cost you the money.

as to the damage to the interior; that would be on the tow company to not take reasonable action to prevent damage to your car.
 

vMike26

Junior Member
go get your car and then present the receipt to your boss for reimbursement. As long as you followed his directive (I have a funny feeling his version will be a bit different if they do not want to pay the tow), he is liable for the costs. He represented himself to you as having the authority allow you to park there and his actions cost you the money.

as to the damage to the interior; that would be on the tow company to not take reasonable action to prevent damage to your car.
his story is just like mine there is 3 other people that work there and we all park in the reserved parking. My boss told all of us that we can park in the reserved parking space so we didnt have to pay the 2$ to get in and prety much the last day at that structure my car gets towed when i parked there for 4 days in the same spot without a problem. He talked to his boss and said he honestly doesn't know what to do and now his bosses boss said he will give me a call to talk about this. I really need my car back today so i guess im going to have to spend my paycheck to get it out the impound lot, for something that is clearly not my fault. But if they don't want to reimbursement me for something that i was instructed to do that ended up getting my car getting towed can i persue legal action against the company? + emotional distress since not having a car really effects your life greatly
 

justalayman

Senior Member
But if they don't want to reimbursement me for something that i was instructed to do that ended up getting my car getting towed can i persue legal action against the company? + emotional distress since not having a car really effects your life greatly

yes but you aren't going to get anything for emotional distress. Anything you would be awarded would be limited to actual damages.
 

vMike26

Junior Member
yes but you aren't going to get anything for emotional distress. Anything you would be awarded would be limited to actual damages.
it really sucks if i do file legal action i will get fired for sure. so i just dont know i guess il just pay to get my car out the impound lot and see what happens
 

justalayman

Senior Member
it really sucks if i do file legal action i will get fired for sure. so i just dont know i guess il just pay to get my car out the impound lot and see what happens
Yes, that is sometimes the result of demanding one's rights. Sorry to say but sometimes, you really can't win. Good luck and hopefully the boss will realize that he caused the problem and is willing to take care of it.
 

xylene

Senior Member
If it isn't reimbursed... and the damages to your interior certainly won't be.

Take the tow & impound operator to small claims court.

You will not lose you job for taking the tow guys to small claims.

I also don't understand why you would sue anybody but the tow operator.

Your boss didn't have your vehicle towed - the tow company wrongly towed you.

If your vehicle was damaged - then definitely you have a claim as well for their negligence.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
If it isn't reimbursed... and the damages to your interior certainly won't be.

Take the tow & impound operator to small claims court.

You will not lose you job for taking the tow guys to small claims.

I also don't understand why you would sue anybody but the tow operator.

Your boss didn't have your vehicle towed - the tow company wrongly towed you.

If your vehicle was damaged - then definitely you have a claim as well for their negligence.
Slow down a bit here ;)
The OP didn't have permission from the property owner to park there. His company travels from place-to-place performing their services...
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Slow down a bit here ;)
The OP didn't have permission from the property owner to park there. His company travels from place-to-place performing their services...
well, that' is your and my assumption. I hadn't actually considered that the boss actually was correct in allowing the OP to park there.:eek:


So, let me step way back.

this new possibility could cause a lot of problems. There is the tow company, the boss, the bosses boss, the building management. Each of them could be liable, depending on where the ball got dropped.

if the tow company had a contract to tow any cars that did not have a sticker or whatever required to park where OP did and they were not given any directive the OP had permission to park there, the tow company would not be liable for the tow (the sunroof stuff, yes but not the tow). They were only doing what they were contracted to do. It would be whomever either improperly authorized the parking or failed to take whatever action was required to ensure the car would not be towed. That could be anybody from the boss all the way up to the management or owner of the building.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
well, that' is your and my assumption. I hadn't actually considered that the boss actually was correct in allowing the OP to park there.:eek:


So, let me step way back.

this new possibility could cause a lot of problems. There is the tow company, the boss, the bosses boss, the building management. Each of them could be liable, depending on where the ball got dropped.

if the tow company had a contract to tow any cars that did not have a sticker or whatever required to park where OP did and they were not given any directive the OP had permission to park there, the tow company would not be liable for the tow (the sunroof stuff, yes but not the tow). They were only doing what they were contracted to do. It would be whomever either improperly authorized the parking or failed to take whatever action was required to ensure the car would not be towed. That could be anybody from the boss all the way up to the management or owner of the building.
Fair enough :)
 

vMike26

Junior Member
thanks for the help they ended up lowering my fee to 150$ i paid it and got my car out. They said nothing about reimbursing me my interior has a bit of water damage but still. kinda glad they lowered the payment. but yeah i do perform this service through a temp job and the person supervising which is my boss told all 3 of us to park in the reserved parking space. they been doing this for about 4 years and this is my first time doing this but they never had a problem like this before so they had no idea this could happen.The tow truck people don't have a contract with the company. I parked in someones spot that they paid for and the person called for my car to be towed... If the boss told me i shouldn't have parked in that exact spot that i parked for the past 4 days this wouldn't have happened. I'm a temporary worker their and i want to be hired through the company but if they don't by the end of july. Can i take them to a small claims court to be reimbursed? Or who is to fault here is this really my fault?
 

justalayman

Senior Member
so, I see no liability concerning the actual tow. To any damages for failing to properly secure your vehicle which allowed the rain inside; 100% their liability. I sure hope you made note of it to the impound yard folks and hopefully on any documents obtained from them.



as to who is liable for the tow itself; you are going to have to do a little investigation to determine who claimed to have the authority to allow you to park where you did. Whether it be your boss or one of the other entities I mentioned is something you will have to discover as that is who is liable for your tow fee.

yes, you can still sue after July. Not sure of the statute of limitations but it is a matter or years, not days or months.
 

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