Questionmy jeep has a very slow gas leak. this morning i came outside to find that my jeep was towed. i got to the towing company with the release from the police to get my car out. The release cost me $100 for hazmat. i then saw my bill from the towing company and they also charged me for hazmat cleanup. they charge $180 for the tow. i was charged $300 for the tow because the driver said he was on site for two hours cleaning hazmat. all in all i was charged 100 from the city for hazmat. 30 from the towing for hazmat 300 for the tow 75 for gate fees and one days lot fees of about 40 bucks. my towing fee was a total of 450 plus one hundred. i wasnt issued a ticket or citation of any kind. this all sounds very illegal to me. should i go to small claims court or hire a lawyer? im out alot of money here for a half a cup of gas that that i got billed by two seperate agencies to clean up. to top it all off the puddle is still there! i have pictures
lil help please
AnswerWOW, interesting problem you have...
First of all, I want to say that the release from the City is something that most cities have started to do, as it generates an income for them which they say covers the expenses of the officers doing the report and calling for the tow, and recording the info...
If I remember correctly this is what your taxes pay for, but they have decided that this fee (read hidden tax) is what they want to do.
Now as to the tow fees, the 300.00 is a bit high for a police tow, but then again I am not aware of where this happened and all that, since you did not mention the city or state that is its in...
The driver spent 2 hours cleaning up the gas ???? and they charged $ 30.00 for it... LOL that is not even close given the tow rates...
Now as to the Gate fee, something here tells me that you picked up the vehicle either after 5 pm Monday to Friday or on the weekend or a holiday... That is why they charge that, as it covers the overtime for someone to come down and do the paperwork, collect the money and open the yard so you can get the vehicle out...
Storage is about right, a bit high for where I am in Alabama but under what I have heard of daily rates for California, New York and parts of New Jersey...
Now as to getting some of your money back, I am not sure how lucky you would be in small claims court as they look at the evidence and all that just like a trial... If you had all the documentation and evidence you still might lose, but there is a chance you could win...
Never know what a judge will rule...
If you want to try that route with the small claims court, take and talk to a friend or 2 and show them all the evidence just like you would in court and ask what they think... Granted it would not have the police or tow truck side of it but it might give you an idea of your chances.
Good luck but I wish I could provide more info.
