Towing Issues: automobile amage/ attempted illegal towing, tow yard, amage

Question
Hi Lisa!  First I would like to thank you for your time & help.    My incident occurred on a Friday afternoon, the date was August 8, 2008 here in San Diego, CA.  I walked out of my apartment to go to my vehicle and saw some damage to my front bumper.  My car was parked in my designated parking spot on site at the complex.  So, luckily I see a note w/ a number on it.  I immediately called the #& spoke to a fellow by the name of Steve & was told that they attempted to tow my vehicle because it didn't have a parking permit on it.  He says that nobody placed a call to report the car but that they "happened to be driving by and saw what appeared to be an unauthorized vehicle on the parking premises."  I explained to him that I just moved in & haven't been issued a permit yet.  The fellow agreed to pay for the damages or they will fix the damage @ their towing garage.  I told him I will be in touch so I immediately called my insurance & they told me to get an estimate.  I talk to Steve a couple of days later & told him I don't feel comfortable w/ them repairing it so I'm going through insurance.  He says not to do that; but to come by on the weekend & they will pay me cash for it.  So I get a couple of estimates a couple of days later, turns out there is more damage than just the bumper.  I meet w/ the tow yard that weekend & he disagrees w/ the damage saying he's only willing to fix the bumper damage.  I show him the estimate he shakes his head saying he's not paying for this.  I know for a fact that the other damages were not there prior to this incident!  No point standing there and arguing right?  I simply tell him my insurance company will be in touch w/ him on Monday.  So my question to you is do I have any legal grounds to sue this company?  I researched this company & apparently it has many bad reviews as far as "illegal towing" is concerned.  I am well aware now that it is illegal to drive around & simply look for cars to tow.  So they have wasted my time, caused me some stress, & I even had to miss work to drive around & get estimates.  I take comfort in knowing my insurance company will go after these scumbags for the damages to my vehicle; but I just wanted to be compensated for the unnecessary stress & missed work.  Thank you.

Answer
Lower than whale crap, which lays in the bottom of the sea. Never heard of a tow-a-way company running a body shop.. They must mess up a whole lot. The kind of people professional towers like myself, get a bad rap for even owning a wrecker@#@#@# They knew they were in the wrong before they even pulled into the complex. Seems they would have known they needed to give you their insurance information???? Follow up trying to get it.. It will make there skin crawl, the last thing they want is a claim against them.. Your insurance company will take care of that!

You did the right thing!! Thank You for not giving into them. Go through your insurance company, let them go after the towing company. (I hate to even call them that) Find the best body shop you can find to do the repairs, one approved by your insurance company.

I don't see any reason you can't take them to small claims court to get the pay you missed, gas used to drive to the body shops, a deductible if you have one, rental car while yours is being repaired (insurance may pay most of that) Keep a file of every debt you have due to there illegal actions. If it gave you a head-ache add the price for the meds taken to make it go away! They may try to settle. If so, take their money (more than likely it came from your neighbors friends when they parked there)

MAKE SURE you file a complaint in writing with every department you can. Check the local police to see if they keep up with all the towing companies in town. Also, these scum bags are going to be looking for a real reason to tow you or any cars they think may belong to people visiting you. For a while get in the habit of using your cell phone and click a picture when you park. It would take them less than 15 seconds to move your tires onto the line or past it.

Also, when an est. is written, they can only right for what they can see at the time. You have a bumper cover (that is all they wanted to fix) under that there is a foam piece the same shape as the bumper cover, then there is the actual bumper, a heavy metal part for safety. I don't know what type of car you have, most have air bag sensors in that same area, along with other important parts. Make sure the body shop checks it out from A to Z.

THANK YOU FOR STANDING UP TO THEM !!!

Lisa