QuestionQUESTION: My son's car was towed from his apartment complex in Beaverton, Oregon on 9/23. He was never notified until 10/30 as to who had his car or how to get it back. It is now 10/8 and the tow yard is wanting around $900 to get it back. How long can the tow yard keep a vehicle without notifying the owner, and still charge for it's storage?
His car is in good running condition, is not broken down or old. It does have expired tags, and apparently the complex had it towed because it had not been moved. Well my son uses his car every day, and had a couple of days off from work and did not used his car. Does the apartment complex have an obligation to notify the tennant that their car will be towed?
ANSWER: The towing company did notify you within a reasonable amount of time. Some states don't require notification for 30 days. You would need to check you lease agreement to see what it says about towing vehicles. but most do require a notice before towing and ask to see a signed authorization form for the tow.
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QUESTION: Is it legally reasonable for a tow yard to keep a vehicle and not allow the owner to pick it up until AFTER it has accrued almost $1000 or more in charges? Does the owner of the vehicle have any protection under the law against such a practice? To the average person this sounds criminal.
AnswerDid you mean they notified you on 9/30. If they did then they notified you within a reasonable amount of time. By not allowing do you mean they refused to release the vehicle? How much did they say the storage was per day? Did you ask to see a towing authorization form? You may also want to look at this form for some ideas http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=29732
You may want to look also at the state code for abandoned vehicles http://law.onecle.com/oregon/98-lost-unordered-and-unclaimed-property/98.830.htm
