QuestionHi,
I just wanted to know the next steps to take from here. I was a customer at chevron and left my car for 5-10 minutes at a parking space to help my friend carry some food back. I had paid for $20 of gas and gotten a receipt. the chevron manager was not notified when they took my car. the towing company did not give me an owners bill of rights and said they did not have a policy written on paper even though i demanded it 3x. he simply said if i was not in the store at the moment of the towing - the car will be taken. i checked out the law and i am suppose to have a 1 hour grace period before I can be towed.
22953. (a) An owner or person in lawful possession of private
property that is held open to the public, or a discernible portion thereof, for parking of vehicles at no fee, or an employee or agent thereof, shall not tow or remove, or cause the towing or removal, of a vehicle within one hour of the vehicle being parked.
In addition, the company does not have proper towing operations permit for about 10 years now and have not had a trucking and towing permit for about 15 years. What can I do to get my money back?
AnswerI am not sure who really has the "ENFORCEMENT TEETH" in cases such as this... California DMV has some sections dealing with this but I have not really understood who is really able to prosecute the violators.
check out the California DMV web site a bit more and you will see the penalties listed under section VC 22658
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22658.htm
