Outrageous car tow charge!

[cyrusgreen]

My car was towed from a shopping plaza in CA for parking too long. They have posted signs citing the how long one can park so I have no questions about that. However, when I went to retrieve my car from the tow company, they charge me $250 to get it back. This was on the same day (less than 12 hours)! The cashier gave me a breakdown as follows: Gate fee, towing fee, special equipment fee, inside storage fee.

The receipt I received was quite messy, but I could make out that they charged an amount for gate fee, towing, and a mileage fee.. No special equipment was used according to the receipt. Apparently these charges were inconsistent with what the cashier had told me.

I checked the CVC and local ordinances and discovered that I am entitled to four times the charge of the tow if I can proof that the towing charge was excessive. And by definition, the charge is excessive if the cost of retrieving the vehicle is more than what is charged if local authorities (CHP or local PD) were to authorize the tow.

My question is, given that I have a receipt that shows a mileage charge (which I confirmed is excessive) and the inconsistent explanation of charges, what are my chances of winning this case in a small claims court?

Also the storage location of my vehicle was located farther away than the cashier station (on the other side of town) . This forced me to make two stops to have my vehicle retrieved. Would I be able to make a transportation claim to the shopping plaza or the towing company? (According to CVC, the storage facility closest to location where the car was towed must be used)

 

[HomeGuru]

Where did you go for 12 hours?

 

[JETX]

Q1) "My question is, given that I have a receipt that shows a mileage charge (which I confirmed is excessive) and the inconsistent explanation of charges, what are my chances of winning this case in a small claims court?"
A1) How good is your ability to gather facts and evidence as needed and to present it to the court in a logical manner?? How good is the ability for the tow truck company to defend themselves against your claims??

If you can answer those questions, you have the answer. If you can't, then we can't answer it for you.

 

[cyrusgreen]

Q1) "My question is, given that I have a receipt that shows a mileage charge (which I confirmed is excessive) and the inconsistent explanation of charges, what are my chances of winning this case in a small claims court?"
A1) How good is your ability to gather facts and evidence as needed and to present it to the court in a logical manner?? How good is the ability for the tow truck company to defend themselves against your claims??

If you can answer those questions, you have the answer. If you can't, then we can't answer it for you.

What can the truck company use to defend themselves given a written receipt on paper?

 

[JETX]

Your entire case at this point... at least as you have posted here is based on:
"The receipt I received was quite messy, but I could make out that they charged an amount for gate fee, towing, and a mileage fee.. No special equipment was used according to the receipt. Apparently these charges were inconsistent with what the cashier had told me. "

They can give you a legible receipt showing that their charges are valid. They can tell you that the 'cashier' was wrong. They can tell you that they DID have a gate fee. They can tell you that they DID have special equipment. That is just a FEW of the possible defenses that they could raise in answer to your charges.