Towing Issues: Is it legal to have car towed with owner present ?, tow company, towing truck

Question
We live in Columbia ,md.It was late night my father saw the towing truck backed up towards his car,so he ran down stairs and told them we have parking permit.But my father don't speak much English,he didn't understand the explanation.So he told them to stop,and he wanted to go back and got his cellphone to call me.However they refused to wait.during the time my got his cellphone and ran downstairs.They had hooked it up and drive away.Afterwards,i was told the management had sent out notice to change new permits,but we didn't receive any notice regarding the change.
Were they legal to continue to hook up the car after the owner told them to stop towing?
After we picked up the car in the impound,we notice fresh scratch at the front side of the car,and we took picture of the scratch.What shall we do about it?
Any responds is appreciated.
James

Answer
Well if the management sent out notices and issued new parking permits then anyone with the old permits is subject to tow..  
As to you receiving the notices well that is one that is up in the air as how to answer, a lot of time people do not really pay attention to notices...

Now the part about the owner present and not paying for the release of the vehicle at that point, well it is common practice to get a drop fee if the owner is there and pays a "connection fee, or a drop fee"...

Legal to keep working, well as long as I been towing (29 years, I can tell you that anyone can say to stop towing, but only the registered owner has the right to redeem the vehicle.
Statements like "its my buddies car I will go get him" let me know I can keep working till the "RIGHT PERSON" gets there...

I know you mentioned that your father did not understand much of the explanations from the tow company and I do not really know how to answer that part, other than a bit of a rant which you might not like but will explain my thoughts here..

In order to get a drivers license (which is a privilege not a right to have) you have to pass certain requirements... And as such, almost every state has rules which state that the license holder be able to READ, SPEAK< and UNDERSTAND ENGLISH enough to obey instructions from LAW ENFORCEMENT and other people who are directing traffic or dealing with traffic and parking issues..

Damage to the vehicle, well that has to be discussed with the tow company as if they will take responsibility for damage or tell you that they did not do it...  Its hard for me to say what they did or did not do...
Be nice and civil when dealing with then, present your case and evidence and see what they say... After all mistakes do happen and as such when vehicles are towed, there is a chance that they might of caused damage... How they deal with it is up to the company policy.

I hope this helps...