QuestionMy boyfriend and his dad lived in a condo with an association. A few months ago his father died. He decided to donate his car to a charity. So when the car was gone from it’s parking space one day he though nothing of it. Now months later he gets a letter from a tow company that he owes $1,700.00 in fees. He was never contacted by the company before, and really had no idea that the car had even been towed. He really thought the donation people had picked it up, and he just went on tying to take care of everything else after his father’s death. The car isn’t his, and isn’t in his name. But the tow company says they are going to send him to collections. What rights does he have, and what should he do next. Any information would be helpful, we have no idea what to do. ( we live in Laguna Hills California))
AnswerWell this brings up one of the great debates on "donation vehicles" which many towers have.
What happened to the vehicle is not real important at this point of the answer, as the vehicle was removed from the parking lot of the condo complex. That means that someone had to authorize it to be removed if it was towed for abandoned, illegally parked or what ever reason the Condo management had it removed.
That means that there is "a paper trail" which you are entitled to see per California Law. The California DMV has all the vehicle codes which apply to vehicles which are towed for all kinds of reasons and I will link the DMV web site at the end of the answer here. You are best off searching around the site to find answers to questions you will have after starting the search. Pay close attention to VC 22658 as it apply to vehicles towed from private property and has notification letters and such in it covered.
Now lets say that the "CHARITY" had the vehicle towed and all that. I assume that the title to the vehicle was given to the charity???
Now if they accepted the vehicle, and then turned around and either donated it to someone who needed a vehicle, or sold it then it is possible that someone did not transfer the title out of the previous owners name.
This happens a lot as that means in a basic sense that the "vehicle is disposable" and the person has no responsibility.
I would check with the tow company and see what the "TOW DATE" and how they came into possession of the vehicle. Match this with the date that "they noticed the vehicle was removed or gone"
That will help a lot in this issue.
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/vc.htm
secton 22658 below
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22658.htm
