Towing Issues: Illegal Towing? Do I have a case?, minute time frame, city of riverside ca

Question
This took place in the city of Riverside,CA near the Unniversity of Riverside. I parked my car in retail. It has a 60 minutes time frame. I parked there at around 6 o'clock. They apparently chalked my car or the back of the wheel. I than dropped off my girl friend to class a little bit before 7. I put gas in my car and I parked my car in the same spot at around 7:25 I went upstairs and got my other girl friend and came back down stairs and the car was towed. I called the company they had just towed my car in the five minute time frame i went upstairs. I explained to them that i had not parked there 60 minutes and therefore it was unfair for them to tow me. I was very cautious and aware that they tow if you exceed 60 minutes which is why i noted the time. When I went to go pick up my car they gave me a picture of my car and the back of the wheel being chalked and they said that it was very unlikely that the chalk on the back of the wheel and the chalk on the floor matched up the second time i parked(even though they do not have a picture of the second time i parked), therefore i was lying. But they never took a before and after picture and the pictures do not have time frames on them, it just shows chalk on the back of my wheel and chalk on the floor. I went to the towing place at around 9:15 and I had to wait to pick up my car and i had to wait until 10. Than they charged me the ridiculous fee of $330 even though the distance of the tow company from where i got towed is about five miles if not less. Please tell me there is something I can do. Take them to small claims.. something. If I felt the tow was fair I wouldn't be so upset because it was my mistake, but i somehow feel that i have some kind of small claim against them at least just to get my tow fee back. Mind you this company targets college students at a college apartment complex. I mean if you park 60 minutes and 10 seconds they are there and they will tow you.
Thanks!

Answer
Well as a tow truck driver myself I would have a real hard time believing that the marks on the tires match up after driving around.. That would be like winning the lottery.

Now as to your time frame, I can not say that you are lying nor can the tow company, but you mentioned you went for gas also... Do you have a receipt for the gas. It should have a time stamp on it to prove that you were not parked there at that time.

Now the problem with the 1 hour limits is that it is hard to prove you left and as such the return put you in the exact same space...
You mentioned that you parked in "retail" which to me means a store or restaurant parking lot. Now the bad part is you also mention that you are in an college apartment complex also...  Kind of confused here. If you are in an apartment parking lot and you live there, are you only supposed to be in the lot for 1 hour ?
I am confused here, but that is beside the point.

The tow company sounds like it follows the law in California and as such did the marking of the vehicle and the photo of the vehicle. That is required by law now in California... But remember the saying "a picture is worth a 1000 words" does also help you... Back to the gas issue, as the key here is the receipt for the gas (hope you have it) as it will show the court you left.

As to the small claims court issue, I think that is up to you to decide as if you are going to do that or not. Tow fees of $330.00 are not unheard of for private property impounds, but remember that the money you paid are not all for the actual towing of the vehicle. Some of it is storage and some might be afterhours release fees (gate fee) and as such tend to make it look bigger than it really is.

Hope this helps a bit, but the small claims court issue is what you have to decide yourself.