Towing Issues: Illegal Towing, last saturday night, credid card

Question
hello last saturday night my daughter went to her friends in Riverside Ca.her friend lives in a apt comples  sha had her 3 kids ages 5 mo. 1 year and 5 years she had car seats to get her kids home safe has a 07 silverado went to a baby shower she comes out at 2 am to find her truck gone well it was towed her friend that lives tthere said that she never uses a sticker for parking and there was a lot of vehicles with no sticker but for some reason her truck was taken i checked dmv web site it says they have to try and find owner of vehicle before tow and also needs property owners name and sig. before tow and should not leave a person stranded in a unsafe environment middle of the night with babay in Riverside is unsafe with no vehicle to get into to come home they just snatched her truck left a lot of othere vehicles with no parking permits it also states the to yard has to be less than 10 miles from the tow which was more than 10 miles i payd with a credit card $346.00 the next day including  a $97.00 gate fee because it was on a Sunday i had to go get it because i am the registered owner they would only release to me what if i was out of town or in the Hospital i dont think it is right no warning no name of person who called tow co i thing the co has an acct with the complex and just trying to make money can i dispute my credid card charge with credid card co. after i send them a copy of dmvs policys and everything i really think it is not right that this happened

Answer
First ask the towing company for a copy of the request to tow your truck. If the tow was not a legal tow-a-way, ask the company for a full refund, along with any extra cost to get to their yard. Sadly, a person who tows away vehicles for a living uses the things people need against them. Car seats a dead give away she HAD to get the vehicle. The other that didn't get towed more than likely were older and not really worth the towers time to tow the lot clean. Was there a sign at the entrance of the complex? Perhaps she parked in front of a persons apartment who is childless & has a little heart. Find out who called the company, that will be on the tow request form, along with the time of call. Contact the police departments towing admin. about the overcharge and over miles. If the tow was legal, the company should have let you know a notarized letter from you should have saved you the trip. Most places can't charge storage for the first 24 hours, we tell people if there is any way at all you can wait until Monday if towed on a Sunday, save the gate fee. That gate fee seems high. Florida's average is $40 to $50. When checking the fee's make sure your not looking at ROTATION FEES. Most don't allow the same amount for roam towing.
Keep in mind, some people may think a baby shower lasting until 2am is pretty late to have little ones out. You don't have to go into details. Since you checked with DMV, did you happen to file a complaint or were you told the fees are correct? If they can prove the tow was legal, stopping payment is the same as a bad check (in Florida)so I'd hold off on stopping payment. Do keep up with the charges from the credit card company and ask for all the fee's charged it the tow and fees are legal. Good luck & keep up posted. You may also try www.municode.com to see the legal terms and regulations of the tow-a-way companies.
Lisa