QuestionQUESTION: Does the tow truck company have the right to lurk and enter into a private owned parking lot waiting for its legally parked occupants to forget to display their tags and tow their cars away.
I live in a co-op and for the past couple of months L.A. Towing Co. has been lurking in our parking lot and taking away cars. All of them were in their legally parked assigned spots but their tags were not visible for whatever reason. The company is hired by our management company. They have never been called, they've pretty much taken up residence here. Oh, they acutally jimmied our car to get in to tow it away knowing it was legally park. Our tag was not visible, but another tenant advised them we were home. Cops were called and in the end we had to pay $40 for the boot.
ANSWER: Does the towing company have a contract and do they or the complex have signs posted? Have you spoken with the co-op yet?
Predatory towing is very common in California and is not legal. There are numerous web sites and forums devoted to this. There are also and have been several law suits filed against towing companies. California also has a process where you can contest a tow.
One of the web sites is www.consumer-action.org/index.php/alerts/articles/protecting_yourself_from_predatory_towing this will probably help you.
In California, unless they have recently changed the laws, a towing company has to have a signed authorization to tow the vehicle.
As for entering a vehicle they are allowed, but they are responsible if they cause any damage and can be held liable for items that come up missing.
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QUESTION: Thanks for your quick response. I'm impressed. I believe we have a contract with them and there is a sign of our towing company stating that illegally parked cars will be towed. They still tried to take the car away, regardless of the fact that another tenant told them we were legally parked and she was getting us. I have reported this to the board and am awaiting a response since this predatory behaviour in our parking lot has been going on too long. I forgot to mention we live in the city of Yonkers, in Westchester County.
If we have a contract with them, and I believe we do, would there be rules and regulations regarding what they can and cannot do? Thanks again.
AnswerIt depends on the contract. I have no way of knowing what they agreed to. Regardless their contract cannot supersede a local or state law. As for the charges, if they are called to come tow a vehicle then they are entitled to be paid. However, if they are patrolling, which they should not do, I do not believe they can charge anything unless they actually tow the vehicle. Their defense is going to be that the parking permit was not visible so I would get some ammo to defend that.
