Towing Issues: Patrol Towing, CC payment, investigations unit, cc payment

Question
Hello,
I have a couple questions. My vehicle was towed from a red zone in which there were no visible "fire lane" signs where the car was parked or anywhere in the complex for that matter.The only signage of any fire lanes is at the very entrance to complex parking lot. The vehicle was towed without any complaints from the complex (I confirmed this with the complex - they didn't call anyone). I think I have been a victim of patrol towing (the car was parked there less than 30 minutes), how do I find the law or statute that the driver has broken by patrol towing? He states he was under contract by the complex and so doesn't need additional authorization. In addition, I was out of town (a friend parked the car there) and even with written permission & a copy of my drivers license faxed to them to release the vehicle the tow truck co. denied to release and so I had to pay 8 days worth of storage, can they do that? Lastly, i wanted to pay with credit card and they said their machine was broken, I asked them to call in the credit card and they said I would just have to pay cash. I even had them write on the tow receipt that they didn't accept CC payment because there machine was broken. What can I do?

Thank you for your time,
Ben

Answer
Ben,
The law requires that a property owner or his agent must be present to authorize every tow. It does sound like this is patrol towing, which is definitely illegal. File a complaint with your local D.M.V. Investigations Unit. I'm assuming you're in California. I do believe, however, that a tow operator must release a vehicle to its owner only. I'm sorry you were out of town, but I don't think they can release a vehicle to anyone else except the owner of that vehicle. In California, I believe that a vehicle has to be parked there for a minimum of one hour before it can be towed. Contact the owners of the complex and let them know that you believe that you have been wronged and that perhaps your lease was violated due to your vehicle being towed without authorization. Let them know that you will consider taking legal action against them. Also, I believe that a tow operator has to, by law, accept credit card payments. They cannot simply refuse a credit card payment because they're machine is broken. They could have called it in. Turn them in to your local police/sheriff's department and the Attorney General. Good luck to you. I hope this helps.