Towing Issues: Maximum Allowable Towing Fees, california attorney general, california vehicle code

Question
Hi Bob,

thanks for your earlier response about my towing situation ($420 from a grocery store parking lot after less than 1 hour).  I am trying to research the maximum towing fees the towing company is allowed to charge me, but have had no luck with the local government.  I called the Redwood City PD, San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, San Mateo County Court, Redwood City CHP, San Jose CHP, the Redwood City DMV, and no one was able to tell me the maximum allowable towing fees or where I could find them.  They all said to call the tow company, who are not exactly a trustworthy source.  I'm not sure how to proceed.  Should I contact the California Attorney General's office?  I think a more local entity would be better but I haven't a clue as to who that would be.  The county and city must have entered into some sort of contract for towing, so this information must exist-- somewhere.

Also, San Mateo County has additional sign restrictions, but I cannot find a mention of the penalty for violating these (the signs on the property do not meed the CVC standard nor the San Mateo County code).  One section (the size of the sign) is different than that in the California Vehicle Code.

http://municipalcodes.lexisnexis.com/codes/sanmateo/_DATA/TITLE07/Chapter_7_28_M...

Also, the tow company only recorded the last six digits of my VIN # and wrote down the wrong model name.  Not sure if this matters.

Whew, well, sorry for the barrage of questions, but I want to be as thorough as possible.  

Cheers!

Answer
Peter you will get nowhere calling. If you want answers you must go to the Redwood Police Department and talk to someone and ask them if they have a contract with a towing company to pick up abandoned vehicles or vehicles that are in accidents etc. Then try and see if that contract limits the amount they can charge and is similar in nature to the San Francisco Traffic Code. Not all cities will have there own code but Redwood City is so close to SF I am betting they do.

You already found the Municipal Codes. Was that for Redwood City? If so this is where the Towing Regulations, if there are any, would be. Perhaps San Mateo County has some rules on towing.

Look carefully at my blog and you will see this paragraph in it: Actually section 22658 (i) of the Motor Vehicle Code has a provision it it that requires a towing company to charge the same or less than the same towing or storage charges would be if the towing company had been called by a law enforcement officer. Here is the exact language:
"A charge for towing or storage, or both, of a vehicle under this section is excessive if the charge is greater than that which would have been charged for towing or storage, or both, made at the request of a law enforcement agency under an agreement between the law enforcement agency and a towing company in the city or county in which is located the private property from which the vehicle was, or was attempted to be, removed".

Every City or County and Police Department and Sheriffs Department has a contract with a towing company to tow abandoned vehicles. They find a dozen or more a day. Also when they Boot a car for non paid tickets etc. they eventually tow it off. They don't start looking in the phone book for towing companies. They ALREADY have a contract with one or more Tow companies and I will bet you they put a cap on the rates. Otherwise one guy will charge $400 and another guy will charge $200 and you will have lots of unhappy car owners - Citizens complaining to the Mayor or Board of Supervisors.

Check it out.