towning company billing

[whoRu]

What is the name of your state? CA, first of all I dont know where to post this. My car was stolen and burn on January. I call a towing company to towe it and junk it. I sign a release liability of the car to the towning company and pay the towning fee for it. it was at night and they couldnt get in and towe the car.They say they are going to do it the next moring.I did went to the DMV and turn in the release of ownership to the DMV.So i thought everything was done and finish but after 3week or so i got a bill from another towning company.It seem like the first towning company that i pay for towning didn't towe the car.Now the 2nd towning company have send me a collection notice.I dont know what to do at this point.Do I get a lawyer and them the 2nd company to card and make them get the money from the first towning company?

Thanks

 

[moburkes]

What is the name of your state? CA, first of all I dont know where to post this. My car was stolen and burn on January. I call a towing company to towe it and junk it. I sign a release liability of the car to the towning company and pay the towning fee for it. it was at night and they couldnt get in and towe the car.They say they are going to do it the next moring.I did went to the DMV and turn in the release of ownership to the DMV.So i thought everything was done and finish but after 3week or so i got a bill from another towning company.It seem like the first towning company that i pay for towning didn't towe the car.Now the 2nd towning company have send me a collection notice.I dont know what to do at this point.Do I get a lawyer and them the 2nd company to card and make them get the money from the first towning company?

Thanks

Have you contacted the original towing company that you paid money to? Have you asked for a refund since they didn't tow your vehicle? You can use that money to pay the company that acutally towed your vehicle.

 

[whoRu]

i pay $100 to the original company and i was charge $1600 for the other company that owe it.I have sign all right to the car over to the original company. when i pay the $100.

 

[CdwJava]

If you turned over the release of liability as you said, then that record will be on the DMV printout of the vehicle's registration. This should absolve you of finanincal responsibil;ity to the vehicle. Send a copy of that printout from the DMV to the new tow company and tell them to go after the other tow company.

Here is a link tot he DMV site on this form:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffvr9.htm

- Carl

 

[whoRu]

I did sign that. i sign the bottom half of the pink slip and give the original towning company the pinkslip and i turn in the bottom half to the DMV

 

[CdwJava]

Go to the DMV tomorrow, get a copy of the registration, and then submit a copy of that information showing the release of liability information to the other tow company.

- Carl

 

[outonbail]

This may not be that simple and here's why,,,

Towing company A picks up burned out stolen car at the request of law enforcement. (I assume)

OP, is notified that his vehicle has been recovered.
OP learns that recovered vehicle is a complete loss and requests Towing company B to haul the vehicle to the junk yard, which they charge him a fee of $100.00 to accomplish.

Towing company B arrives at Towing company A to pick up vehicle destined for junk/scrap yard and are informed that there are charges accumulated on the vehicle, which must be paid before it will be released from tow company A's yard. (towing and storage already provided by A) These charges have probably already exceeded the $100.00 charge, which tow company B collected to junk the vehicle.

Now comes the guessing part:
Towing company B will claim it was made very clear that the $100.00 fee, was for their time and effort to pick up and haul the car to scrap and that any money already owed to company A, was the car owners responsibility. (This is quite common and many times the customer will pay the bill directly to the company holding the vehicle, or, provide their hired company with the funds needed to release the vehicle) Seeing how this is a common practice, they will further claim that the owner was aware of this and agreed to pay tow company A's bill, so the vehicle could be released. The $100.00 fee, has already been earned by tow company B, when they made the attempt to pick up the vehicle, which was a big waste of time due to the owners neglecting to pay the charges already accumulated on his vehicle, to company A.

So, first off, how did you come to learn that the vehicle was recovered and how did you discover it was burned? If it was through the usual pending lien sale notice sent out by tow company A, it would have taken a week or so for you to become aware of this and the charges would have already exceeded $100.00. I'm guessing you were aware of this when you hired company B to dispose of the vehicle for $100.00.

However, signing the paperwork over to company B was done so they can legally scrap the vehicle as no junk or scrap yard will accept a vehicle without such paperwork. Towing company B was not purchasing the vehicle and never became the legal owners of this burned up hull, it was a total loss. So filing a release of liability with the DMV was redundant, since the car was not operable and only headed for the scrap yard anyway.
.
My guess is that you thought you found a way to duck the charges which were already accumulating on your vehicle.

But guess what,,,,, you are wrong and you will now be held responsible for the entire amount company A is billing you for,,,, PAY THEM!

Next time you find yourself in this situation, try working with the tow company who hauled your vehicle into their yard. You could have probably handed the paperwork over to them and paid a couple hundred dollars for their troubles and been done with it. They wouldn't have had to file liens and wait forty or fifty days until they could legally junk the vehicle.

 

[CdwJava]

The only ways I can see this going bad would be if he released the vehicle to the one company and asked that they tow it from the yard of the second company ... this is sometimes done because even with stolen vehicles the registered owner is responsible for the tow fees.

Another possibility is that the first company - a private tow - was too late and law enforcement had the vehicle removed per the second company and thus the accrued fees.

If the RL was signed prior to the vehicle being in the possession of company number two, then the OP should be okay. If the RL was signed and submitted AFTER the second tow company got it, then he's going to be liable for the fees.

It is a matter of timing. Keep in mind that a lot of tow companies out here try to pull stuff they cannot always get a way with. I am personally very leary of a lot of the billing practices I have seen, and without doing a lot of investigation into who had what first, it's impossible to say who might be in the right here.

The OP needs to go back and get the sequence of events down and confirm this with paperwork (such as the impound paperwork from the poilice if they did indeed authorize a tow by the second company).

- Carl

 

[outonbail]

This why I asked how he discovered his stolen vehicle was recovered and then, how he learned of it being burned.

In some cases, the police here will contact the RO to see if they want to pick up their recovered vehicle. However, if the vehicle is not driveable, they usually just have it towed by one of the companies in the rotation.
Now if he was notified by the company who picked it up, through the lien process, then he still would have to have gone there to see that it was burned up and would have been made aware of the charges at that time.

One of the somewhat shady billing practices I've seen, is that the towing company requires for the bill to be paid before the customer gets to see his vehicle. This is because they know what the chances are of them getting their due money if a customer is aware of their vehicle being completely burned up.
However, they are still liable for the charges as the towing company did in fact do what they are contracted to do, by picking up and storing the vehicle.

I guess it would be a double wammy if the towing company required a police release before letting them see their vehicle, as then they would have to pay PD as well as the tow company.

But in the case at hand, I have a feeling the OP was trying to pull a fast one or looking for the cheap way out. Why would a towing company "Buy" his vehicle if it was burned up?

Maybe I'm wrong,,,,,but I still think this whole situation was pre-planned by the OP as a way to claim he's not responsible,,,,

 

[CdwJava]

But in the case at hand, I have a feeling the OP was trying to pull a fast one or looking for the cheap way out. Why would a towing company "Buy" his vehicle if it was burned up?

It could be a dodge ... or, he could be taken advantage of. As i said, it is not uncommon a practice out here.

As for why they might buy the vehicle or just accept possession, it might have some scrap value to it. Either the metal or some parts may still be intact. You can almost always get SOMETHING out of even a burned hulk ... provided you want to try and have the sapce to store it.

If he's on the up and up, a little footwork to gather the paperwork will clear him. If it's a dodge, that same paperwork will hang him.

- Carl

 

[whoRu]

i was driving to the store buy some food when i came across a car was buring and i call the cop.Then when I came up closer to look and i realize it was my car that was burn.I was there when the police did the police report.the next day i call a towning company to go towe it and junk it.i have pay them $100 and sign a paper to release any liability to the towning company.it was at night and they couldnt get in to towe the car.i call the city police to go open the gate for the towning company to go towe the car but they didnt have the key to open the gate and say they will give the towning company a call the next day.Then a few day later i went to the towning company and give them the pinkslip and went to the dmv and to give them the other half of the release of ownership paper.then like 3 week later i got a bill from another towing company.

 

[averad]

On my way to the store I pass atleast 4 to 5 burning cars, but the thunderdome is only a few blocks away

 

[whoRu]

On my way to the store I pass atleast 4 to 5 burning cars but the thunderdome is only a few blocks away

are u saying i make this up?

 

[averad]

are u saying i make this up?

I saying dat you storie dosnt add up.

 

[whoRu]

thats what happen. i dont need to lie bout it.