Towing Issues: Car was towed and I was never aware..., tow truck driver, tow company

Question
QUESTION: Basically I found out on my credit report that my mother had put a car in my name and got it impounded about 10 monthes or so ago and never payed the impound because the car was a heap. So I found this out looking at my credit report about 2 weeks ago. The ammount is $1950. They never contacted me even when i guess on OCT 4 they got my real address because ive lived in CO the past 3 years and my mother lives in california. I would of never been aware of this account if I didnt check my credit. My question is is this right for them to never contact me and continure to accumulate interest on this account. Is there anything I can do about this in any form? I just dont know what to do. Since I was 18 the one thing I took pride in was my credit history and now Its ruined unless I somehow come up with $2000 out of nowhere for something that had nothing to do with me. Thanks for any answers.

ANSWER: Wow funny that I got 2 questions very much alike on the same day about the same subject from California..

Ok, it does sound a bit fishy that your mother registered a vehicle in your name and had it towed later for some reason... What is wrong with it being in her name?  That makes me wonder in the first place.

Ok, now that covered, I would have to say that the vehicle was registered to your moms address but your name, and according to the DMV laws regarding towing notifications, the tow company sends certified letters to the last registered owner at the address listed on the title registration.

Now lets say this tow company is efficient and wants to get paid for the work it does and as such uses a collection - credit agency to attempt to collect unpaid fees..

Now since it was in your name, you would appear to be the legal owner (remember I am not a lawyer, but am just a tow truck driver here who volunteers his time here) and according to the law you are responsible for any and all fees resulting in owning the vehicle.
Now 2 or 3 years later the collection agency finds your address in Colorado for some reason, and then reports that information. That is how it got on the record.  

As to you owing the money and having to pay it, well since the original issue seems to be a fraud or close to it committed by your mom, it would take a court to determine if you are legally liable for the fees...  

Now since you want to resolve this I can only point you in 2 directions here, one is to pay it off and forget it which I do not think you want to do, and the other is to contact the reporting agency and discuss it with them. If it takes court action to resolve this issue then you might have to go that way...  Granted it could make family life a bit more of a problem but it is your choice as to what to do...

Talking to a lawyer might be a bit of a help as they might point you in the right direction..  

Hope it helps but its really a hard question to answer.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your answers. The reason the car was in my name is because my mother didnt have a license for the past 10 years or so i dont know exactly. She had been pulled over multiple times for being drunk behind the wheel and other reasons. And when the car got impounded im sure it was one of those incidents that finally caught up to her and the cop that pulled her over didnt feel so leniant like the others and took the car.

I just wish there was someway to prove she was the driver with the tickets and what not and her being the one who was driving the car when it got impounded and that would be enough for them to just go after her and her credit instead of mine. But that is probably most unlikely. I called the credit agency that has been calling me and just told the woman that I cant afford to pay it and now she keeps saying she is going to take me to court. One more thing I have to worry about.

Thanks for your opinion in all this,even though you arent a lawyer. I guess its just good to vent my frustration to somebody that kind of understands the situation. Thanks again.

Answer
Well, in a short answer, the original tow reason for impounding the vehicle generates a form which the police officer fills out.. This should have the vehicle driver information on it and such. Now that still would show the owner as you which is what you are trying to defeat.

Since it is your mom, I think that the problems it would cause with going to court over the fraud committed by registering the vehicle in your name would be more of a hassle than it is worth...

But you can check with California DMW and see if you can explain this problem to them and if they can send you copies of the original vehicle registration paperwork.  You might be able to get some help there with it but again it does create the fraud issue which will result in legal problems for you and your mom.