Towing Issues: Damage procedure, police tows, tow yard

Question
Hello I have a question regarding procedures before, during, and after a vehicle is towed and damage occurs. Is there a set guide line that tow companys follow? I had my car recently impounded and when I went to pick up my car I noticed a huge scratch on the side of my car. The guy that released the car to me said that they always take pictures of a vehicle and pre-existing damage it may have. Is that a common practice among tow companys and do they usually inform someone if they did any damage to the car or is it something they pretty much leave to the owner to find if they notice?

Answer
In certain areas of the country tow companies are "REQUIRED" to take pictures of the vehicle before towing.  Mainly this applies to vehicles which are "illegally parked and its towed for that reason"

In some areas if the vehicle is ordered towed by the police than there will be a report filled out which lists damages to the vehicle...

Since you did not mention "WHY" it was towed its hard to guess that answer and also it depends on where it happened in regards to state laws.

NOW GET THIS, California on private tows for illegal parking requires pictures before the tow, and if it is towed as ordered by the police then there is a report done.  BUT NOW California is prohibiting the taking of pictures for any reason on police tows, which can document damages or where the vehicle was parked...   Makes lots of sense right


Now as a rule a lot of tow companies do take pictures of the vehicles they tow to document prior damage as a CYA thing. (I do and I tow semis and buses all the time and have a huge file on my computer of them)


Also I want to also share that in the tow yard accidents do sometimes happen and if the yard is a "HIGH VOLUME - TURN OVER"  yard where cars are always in and out, it is possible that the damage might of happened when someone else was getting their vehicle out.