Towing Issues: non-consenual towing, being held hostage, tow operator

Question
I have what I'm sure is a very common question about non-consensual towing.  I was stopping by a friend's at an apartment complex that has visitor and non-designated resident parking.  As the visitor parking is an incredibly small percentage of all spaces and therefore almost always filled, I went to park at a far corner of the lot where very few cars are ever parked.  After about 45 minutes, I was on my way out when I saw a tow truck parked in front of my car.  Naturally, I ran to stop the operator and tell him i would be moving immediately.  He continued hooking up the equipment to allow him to tow the car.  He told me that if I wanted my car there would be a hookup fee of $88, or I could have it towed to his lot.  Is it right for him to continue with the hookup even after he knew I was the owner?  Also isn't there sometimes a minimum amount of time you must be parked before it can be towed?  There are no signs saying visitors must park in a 'visitor' spot.  And the only designation of vistor spots is stenciling in paint on the pavement itself.  Obviously this can be very difficult to see at night.  Is there any recourse that someone has when it is a situation like this amongst three private parties where the police are not involved.  It seems to me that you're better off getting your car towed on a public street, where at least you have the court as a means of recourse.  I know the tow-operator was only doing his job and that I may have been technically in the wrong but I felt like my car was being held hostage and that the whole situation was completely unreasonable.  It's not so much the money, but the feeling that I've been fleeced--especially considering where I was parked had dozens of empty spaces and as I said, there are no specifically designated spots so it's not as if I was in a resident's personal parking space.  Any comment would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

Answer
Well Mark, it sounds like you are in California based on some of the comments you made...

First of all, without that information I can not really say for sure if the answers provided to you will be accurate so I will give a general answer here...

Yes it sounds as if the parking is marked, but has suffered the effects of abuse from vehicles and the weather... That is not really a crime, but it is a problem at times.

Now as to the driver continuing to hook up when you were there... In some places the tow truck driver can not collect a "drop fee" if he is not hooked to the vehicle and in a condition ready to go down the road... So he might of just been working to get paid before he dealt with you... After all the police if called would of come and seen the condition and most likely agreed it was ready to leave.


As to why you got chosen to be towed, well hard to say but I was once told a statement by  an officer about dealing with speeding traffic...

He asked if I had even been fishing, of course I replied... He asked if I ever "CAUGHT ALL THE FISH"  

Sounds like he was going after the easiest fish...