Towing Issues: towing mistake - virginia, leasing office, towing company

Question
My car was ABOUT to get towed, luckily I found the towing guy in the middle
of breaking into my car. I parked in a reserved spot in my apt complex, which
I reserved. However, the leasing office double booked the spot so the other
residents called the towing company on my car. The guy was extremely rude,
and wouldn't explain the situation to me at all and just kept saying that he
needed to get paid for this. The back wheels were already buckled to the tow
truck and he said that it was against the law for him to release the car once it
was hooked to the tow truck. When I told him to stop breaking into my car
(through the passenger door), he said very rudely "well, why don't you go get
your keys and unlock it for me then!" I showed him my papers that stated my
ownership of the reserved parking spot, but he said it had nothing to do with
him.
Fortunately, I ran into someone from the leasing office and the other
residents who wanted to tow the car and we all realized that the parking spot
had been double booked. This is clearly the apt complex's fault.

Okay, that was the background of the situation. Now, what sort of damage is
done to the car when the tow guy "breaks into" the car door? When he took
out his tool from the door, the door did not seem completely flush and
seemed a little elevated.

ALSO, if i am present at the scene of the towing and I present the towing guy
with evidence that it was a mistake, is he still allowed to tow the car???
Shouldn't he contact his office and make sure or contact whoever issued the
tow? He kept saying he needed to get paid for his trip down here ... i think he
was trying to hustle me out of some cash to get rid of the problem.

Thanks in advance for addressing my concerns!

Answer
Ok, Virginia has some laws regarding towing of vehicles from private property and they also have a whole bunch of laws about to change in the near future also.


Now it does sound as if the apartment management did make a mistake and if they were the ones who ordered the tow they should make up for it.

But as to if the tow company can "break into" the vehicle, well there are a few things here I want to discuss...

First of all as an "ethical practice" its not really a good idea to do this... Always seems to be "a bag of diamonds or cash" which get stolen this way...

But then again, in order to tow some vehicles its best to have it in neutral and the steering secured so it does not wander from side to side when being towed.

Now as to the door not being "completely flush" it depends on what kind of method and tools they were using to get in.. "Elevated" now that one I have no idea as we do not pry UP on doors. But is sounds as if they were using a wedge and a long rod system which depending on the vehicle is the recommended way to gain entry to the vehicle.

As to not releasing the vehicle without being paid, well that is normally called a "drop fee" which in general terms is when you are on scene with the tow truck and it has been connected to the vehicle but not left the property or the space it was in. Again this fee can be anywhere from 1/2 the tow fee to the whole tow fee (with out mileage and storage fees)