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Towing company takes its own time to inform owner

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imtowed

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

My temporarily unused car was towed from my apartment complex in CA (Santa Clara) as it had expired tags. Since I was using my other car all the time (and the car that was towed was parked a little away from my apartment in a legal parking spot), I actually learnt about the tow only when I received the notice of lien sale by mail 12 days later from the towing company. I read the CA DMV rules and it says that the towing company should inform the owner of the vehicle "immediately". I would imagine "immediately" is not 12 days! Is this normal, if not, can I sue the towing company in small claims court for taking so long to inform me? (they make $50 a day for storage, so they have a real incentive to inform the owner late!!). Any help greatly appreciated!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
 


The Occultist

Senior Member
I read the CA DMV rules and it says that the towing company should inform the owner of the vehicle "immediately".
I think you misread. Upon towing a vehicle, the only "immediate" action that is required by the tow company is to alert the local authorities of the tow, that is all.
 

imtowed

Junior Member
I am referring to this link and the paragraph below on the webpage.

V.C. Section 22658 - Removal From Private Property

"(b) The tow truck operator removing the vehicle, if the operator knows or is able to ascertain from the property owner, person in lawful possession of the property, or the registration records of the Department of Motor Vehicles the name and address of the registered and legal owner of the vehicle, shall immediately give, or cause to be given, notice in writing to the registered and legal owner of the fact of the removal, the grounds for the removal, and indicate the place to which the vehicle has been removed."
 

The Occultist

Senior Member
is able to ascertain
Their defense is going to be that they were unable to ascertain the information they needed. My guess is that you're really not going to get anywhere without an attorney helping you. Many attorneys will offer free/cheap consultations, so you should take advantage of this and sit down with a couple to see what insight they may have to offer.
 

patstew

Member
"(b) The tow truck operator removing the vehicle, if the operator knows or is able to ascertain from the property owner, person in lawful possession of the property, or the registration records of the Department of Motor Vehicles the name and address of the registered and legal owner of the vehicle, shall immediately give, or cause to be given, notice in writing to the registered and legal owner of the fact of the removal, the grounds for the removal, and indicate the place to which the vehicle has been removed."
California was a forerunner in making DMV records private. Even my little podunk state doesn't let the police departments release that information to tow operators.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
The tow operator notifies the property owner if they do not KNOW who the owner of the vehicle is.

Your claim - if any - appears to be against the management of the complex. If you had a verbal contract with them regarding your unused car, you might consider taking them to small claims court.

- Carl
 

davew128

Senior Member
California was a forerunner in making DMV records private. Even my little podunk state doesn't let the police departments release that information to tow operators.
Would not a reasonable person think to look in the glove box for a registration card, expired or otherwise? Or does that fall into the category of not wanting to get their fingerprints inside the vehicle after yanking all valuable electronics? :D
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Would not a reasonable person think to look in the glove box for a registration card, expired or otherwise? Or does that fall into the category of not wanting to get their fingerprints inside the vehicle after yanking all valuable electronics? :D
And do you want to know what the probability is that the CURRENT address of the registered owner was on the registration card in an unused car in an apartment complex that the owner recently moved to??

- Carl
 

davew128

Senior Member
And do you want to know what the probability is that the CURRENT address of the registered owner was on the registration card in an unused car in an apartment complex that the owner recently moved to??

- Carl
How do you know he recently moved there? I'm willing to bet sending a letter to LKA as shown on the expired registration even with mail forwarding would be quicker than 12 days. We're not talking about hiring Batman to do some detective work to find someone.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
How do you know he recently moved there?
I don't. But, if he had been there for a while, and had the car sitting unused on the far side of the lot for a long period of time, chances are this would not have been an issue because they would all know each other and the issue.

Plus, I'd say about a third of the registration cards we get from drivers has the improper address, and that number rises when we are talking about apartment renters as they tend to be a little more "transient" than the homeowner and home renter population.

I'm willing to bet sending a letter to LKA as shown on the expired registration even with mail forwarding would be quicker than 12 days.
What's "LKA"?

Of course, the tow company has to find out the registration info from the DMV or from the apartment management if the management knows it. The tow company may not have broken IN to the vehicle to even LOOK in the glove box. That being the case, they need to make the registration request to the DMV and the request has to go to the DMV office in Sacramento ... if they got a turn around on the records in less than 10 days, I'd be amazed.

We're not talking about hiring Batman to do some detective work to find someone.
No, but we're talking about people that have no ability to just call up the info and they have to seek the info through the DMV in Sacramento (in writing) or rely on the printed registration document (provided they break into the car and find the reg. card WITH accurate info).

If the OP wants, maybe he can sue the tow company for a few days of the impound fees ... provided he can show that the tow company dallied on their notification to him.

- Carl
 

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