Towing Issues: towing notification, tow truck operator, lawful possession

Question
My car was broken into in my apartment complex in California.  My parking tag was stolen, and the security guard, seeing my broken into car(the radio had been ripped out and the wires dangling, window pulled down) immediately called the towing company and had it towed for not having a tag.

First question--is there any negligence on the property owner's part for not realizing that my car had been vandalized, and therefore attempting to notify me via access to my license plate number, etc.  I doubt it--but worth asking.

More importantly:

The towing company did not send me any notice in the mail.  I didn't realize my car had been towed until three days later, and by that time I'd been charged 140 in storage and another 75 for a lien.  The tow company manager admitted to me he did not send out a written letter until after the lien was put on. (He seemed to think he didn't have to send a letter until then.)

However--
I read the vehicle code for towing and it states:

(b) The tow truck operator removing the vehicle, if the operator
knows or is able to ascertain from the property owner, person in
lawful possession of the property, or the registration records of the
Department of Motor Vehicles the name and address of the registered
and legal owner of the vehicle, shall immediately give, or cause to
be given, notice in writing to the registered and legal owner of the
fact of the removal, the grounds for the removal, and indicate the
place to which the vehicle has been removed. If the vehicle is stored
in a storage facility, a copy of the notice shall be given to the
proprietor of the storage facility. The notice provided for in this
section shall include the amount of mileage on the vehicle at the
time of removal and the time of the removal from the property. If the
tow truck operator does not know and is not able to ascertain the
name of the owner or for any other reason is unable to give the
notice to the owner as provided in this section, the tow truck
operator shall comply with the requirements of subdivision (c) of
Section 22853 relating to notice in the same manner as applicable to
an officer removing a vehicle from private property.


It seems straightforward to me--though no one in Ca (not police whom I talked to or the tow truck company themselves) seems to think that the tow company had any obligation to notify anyone other than the police. (Which they did.) But clearly that law states they do, right?

My question is--have I read this correctly? And if I have, what type of claim should I be suing for in small claims court? Double the overcharge?  It hardly seems worth it for less than that.

Thanks in advance.

Frank

Answer
Ah the NOTICE ISSUE...

Believe it or not, when the law was enacted, there were several tow companies that I know of and talk to about California issues, talked to lawyers, police officers, and even people who are supposed to have written or helped create the rules and no one had a solid answer to the question of notification...


BUT in a nut shell, there are 2 kinds of notifications that apply.

First of all is the notification within the hour to the police department of the towing of the vehicle.  That is done so that a stolen report is not taken on the vehicle creating a major issue...

Yes towed vehicles have been reported stolen and no one has cleared them from the police databases. Imagine driving home after you paid the tow company to get your towed vehicle back and driving home and getting stopped and arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle. It has happened before.

Now as to another issue with the "first notice" problem you can see that they mention that the notice is provided from information which DMV gives out. So if you get towed at 4am on Saturday morning, is DMV open ???

And what about the laws which California passed regarding "privacy" of Drivers licenses and vehicle registrations after the actress was killed by a stalker who got the information from DMV.
That is another big issue which they kind of overlooked.

The intent of the law is good, the idea is great, but the practical application is what sucks.

Now the second notification is the Lien notices which tend to be mailed out after between 3 to 7 days after it was towed...


Now I know that you quoted one section of the California DMV code, but there are about 100 or more sections which apply to towed vehicles, towing company notifications and such. It gets real confusing to follow and while I am not in California (at times I am glad I am here in backwards Alabama) my 30 years of towing experience and understanding of the laws does not help at times when dealing with California.