Towing Issues: TOWING, california attorney general, constituent affairs

Question
I live in sacto. ca. and my vehicle was in a parking spot provided by the apartment complex I live in.(no assigned parking) My vehicle had a flat tire and I was not driving the car at the time. One day I come home and the car was gone. I found a paper on the ground in the parking area left by someone who manages the apartments saying the vehicle would be towed and it had a 24 hour notice on it.The paper did not have my information on it either. I never recieved this paper or was never informed about this. Is this legal. Im afraid I will recieve charges from a towing company. What should I do?
thankyou

Answer
Juan,
First, you should review your lease agreement with the owner(s) of the apartment building to see what, if anything, it states regarding removal of inoperable vehicles.
Secondly, you should know that the law requires that a property owner, or his agent, must be present at the time of the tow and authorize the vehicle to be removed. If noone is present to sign the authorization for towing, it is considered predatory towing, which is illegal. You can file a formal complaint with your local D.M.V. Investigations Unit, stating exactly what happened to your vehicle. Try to find out who towed your car. You can also file an online complaint with the California Attorney General. You can also contact your local news media (television station consumer reporters, newspapers, etc.) and let them know that you are a resident of the apartment complex where your vehicle was towed from, and that it was there legally. Perhaps they will be interested in bringing your story to the attention of other law enforcement agencies. Also, since you live in Sacramento, walk on in to Governor Schwarzenegger's Office of Constituent Affairs at the state capitol. Tell them what happened. Maybe they'll get sick of hearing complaints from people like yourself who have been victimized by tow operators...and actually do something about the problem! Good luck to you. I hope this helps.