Towing Issues: Illegal Towing, san diego police, bank of america

Question
I was visiting the San Diego area on July 24th thru the 27th.  On the 25th we went to the Pacific Beach Mission bay area to visit some of the clubs.  We parked in a parking lot at 912 Garnet, Pacific Beach, CA.  The parking lot was located behind a Bank of America and stated that it was private property.  There was a large metal box with a sign that said that it was managed by Ace Parking and there was a $5.00 Flat fee for public parking.  The box had slots for each parking space as it was numbered.  You were to place the $5.00 in the slot in which you were parked and you would not be towed, there was no receipt provided.  The box was simply a metal box with slots that was padlocked closed. We arrived at about 10:40PM and went back to find the car missing at 12:00AM.  There was not a number for notification for Ace Parking and there was a sign that had the number for San Diego Police that was incorrect.  After going on the internet on our phone we found the correct phone number for the San Diego Police and were linked to the dispatcher and they informed me that my car had been towed and provided the number for Western Towing.  We contacted them and they said the car had been towed because of non-payment.  I had to then go to Western towing and pay to get my car and would like to know if I have any recourse, as I had paid for my parking spot and was illegally towed?

Answer
Well it sounds like that lot has a few problems.   If the lot did not have "approved" signs per California and San Diego laws then the tow might be illegal... And I really have issues with "self park and pay lots" that do not give receipts...  How do you prove you paid or that the other vehicle which just parked in your space paid?

Plus the tow company is supposed to get a signed authorization for the tow, and that means that someone would of had to check the box.

But that is just part of the problem you do mention.. As to the sign about contacting Ace Parking or the wrong number for the police department that could be a mistake on the number and such. But the law does not say they have to provide the "company number" only the police and tow company numbers...


This sounds like a nice little "gray area" parking lot and while you have already been towed, I would see what other laws have been broken.  I can not provide you with Specific San Diego area laws as they are hard to find at times. But California DMV does have a great web site and you can start there with researching the laws for towing from Private Property. Yes there are penalties and such for breaking the laws, but I will point you in the right direction and you can continue to search as  you know "SPECIFIC ANSWERS" which I do not so you can kind of do the "does this apply" more than I can.


http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22658.htm

Good luck and hope it helps you.