QuestionHi
On April 18 my car was towed out of an apt. complex in Fontana, ca., (no signage, i was there for 45 minutes, etc., illegle tow for sure) Anyhow, we found out that the towing co. had been operating since January 31 2008 without a valid business license to tow in Fontana. the tow yard/storage is located 13 miles away in Ontario, CA (Their business license is good in Ontario) . many people have been towed by this tow outfit since 1/31/08...What recourse, if any, do we have? (Note, I didn't pay a dime to get my car the tow yard backed down fast when presented with the no license issue), however four other people I know paid large sums to retreive their cars. My research paid off for me..But I'm wondering now who is liable for contracting with the tow company ? the apt complex manager/owner? the Fontana P.D. ?(Fontana P.D. authorized the towing of my car--I contacted the CHP in Ontario, they said it was listed as a "police Tow) I'd like to go after them for this. any ideas? who do I complain against first?
Any ideas? Thanks
AnswerI wonder about this question....
It sounds as if you did your research, but you kind of left out some important information in here also...
It was towed out of an apartment complex, which has all sorts of rules and regulations ( VC 22658 comes to mind here), and yet you say that Fontana Police authorized the tow...
Did you get towed per orders of the Police department for some crime (DUI, no license or what ever)
It sounds as if you parked illegally (to me) and then you were given the vehicle back, cause of the business license issue (cities do take long times to issue then at times)
For illegal parking issues, the apartment complex is the one who contracts with the tow company, and while you might of found "this licence - mileage loophole" today, it is entirely possible that the apartment did not know or care that the rules had changed in January of 2007 which established the "loophole"... It could be both the apartment and or tow companies fault there.
You contacted the CHP, and they say it was a "police tow" which generally means the POLICE came out and had it towed... This does not fall into the rules from the DMV sections regarding impounding from private property. They have thier own rules to operate on and the "loopholes" do not apply as tow contracts with police departments are totally different...
If you really want to complain (remember I am missing some important info here to help you with) you can always go the small claims court route, and list everyone involved... Let the judge decide who is responsible.
******* California DMV web site below ****
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/vc.htm
