Towing Issues: Tow operator says thy do not have to find the VIN for 15 days, pittsburg ca, tow operator

Question
I asked this question originally 6/06/06 and have another question.

Original subject, slightly corrected in hindsight:
My truck was stolen, found, towed and held for 2 1/2 months. We live in Calif. It is a 27 year-old truck and I posted the theft on www.stolencarreports.com. and filed a police report. The plates were missing. They could not find the VIN # (which was removed from the dash). They had the vehicle on the lot for 2 1/2 months They finally had the Highway Patrol look for the VIN as a courtesy when they were looking at another vehicle at the lot. It was found in Pittsburg, CA, on a K-Mart lot (private party).

New question:
BACKGROUND: Tow operator says thy do not have to try to find the VIN for 15 days. The VIN was on the firewall (Toyota) It was labled frame #, not VIN number. The Hwy patrol says they come out to look at vehicles within days of being called and the towing co. said they called the H.P. but they did not come. They said they threw away the records requesting the H.P. once they came.
QUESTION: Does the towing operator have an obligation to ask for help finding the VIN number within a shorter time than 15 days? The HP told me the towing company had many resourses to help them with finding the VIN number. I also contend that an automotive professional should have known that the number was on the firewall.

Answer
Well in order to have a proper lein on the vehicle they have to follow certain things.  Now it does not always happen to go the right way.  People who do some of the lein paperwork are great with paperwork and not good at finding information on the vehicles (like locating hidden VIN numbers) and then they are people who know where all the numbers are but suck at the paperwork.

I used to know where most of the hidden ones are, but over the years I have forgot where some are.

You are correct in assuming that they should have known where the numbers are,  but given the fact that the vehicle is 27 years old, (I have been towing that long myself) most employees are newer to the industry and therefore lack the old school knowledge. That might of been the case here.

The best thing I can suggest is if you feel that you want to pursue the issue of the excessive storage then you have the option of small claims court.