Towing Issues: Towing, tow truck driver, tow fee


Question
I met my husband for a drink at a tavern.  After about three hours and 5 drinks later I decided I was in no condition to drive.  My husband only had a couple drinks. So I rode home with him in his car.  I went to pick up my car after work at 5:30 and the tow truck driver was hooked up to my car, he said I could take it up with the Tavern, so I went and found the owner and he said to take it up with the tow truck driver.  His dispatch said charge $175 drop fee.  I went back to the owner and asked why he towed my car he said he was having an event and my car was in the way and it had been there since 7am, and I was lucky it was $175 dollars, if it went to impound it would have cost me $300.  The event was not posted in the parking lot and the parking sign said it was for patrons only all others will be towed.  I was a patron.
Question: Do I have any legal rights here?  Can I get my money back?

Answer
Tricky one here. You had been a patron and not one at the time of the tow. I find the drop rate a bit high and tow fee above any I've heard of. check with your local governments for their rates. Is this fair,to me no, you didn't drive for the safety of yourself & others, then get punished for not driving drunk.
This is the reason we had the city approve us to have a DUI Prevention Towing Service. Speak with your police traffic unit to see if a service like this a available, if not see about getting one started. How far was the lot from the bar? Did you get a detailed bill from the towing service? Make sure the charges are within the maximum allowed fee's. We are in a town with 3 Universities, we face this problem every day. Sadly the person trying to do the right thing is punished for doing so. If you every find yourselves in a similar situation, make sure you let the owner know your leaving your car & why (many states the server who allowed you to drink that much and drive can be charged if you would have had a crash) let the owner know how long your car will be there and give them your contact number in case they do need the car moved. THANK YOU for not drinking & driving. Hopefully you can get some of your money back, the bright side, your alive to find out. Sorry about your bad luck.
Lisa