About two weeks ago, I had my car towed from the parking lot in my apartment complex for allegedly being double parked. I felt there was a chance that I could have been double parked but I seriously doubted it. I went to pick up the car from the storage lot at 3:30am and paid $110.00 to get it out. I asked the owner of the storage lot how I should handle getting reimbursed if it turned out that I wasn't double parked. He told me that when tow truck drivers tow cars that are double parked, they take pictures to show as proof and that the picture in question would be submitted to management at my apartment complex. He said they would be the party who would reimburse me if I had in fact not been double parked. After getting the run-around from the mangement at my apartment complex, they finally let me see the picture and there is no evidence at all that my vehicle was double parked. It was 1am when the vehicle was towed, so the visibility in the picture is limited. There is no verifiable proof in the picture that shows me being double parked. I became upset and demanded a reimbursement from my apartment complex. She told me that any reimbursement would have to be claimed from the storage lot--the person who collected my money. Now, this is the exact opposite of what the storage lot owner said. I plan on going on over to the storage lot in a couple of hours, but wanted to be prepared when I go over. I feel the owner is going to give me a hard time and try to send me back to the management at my apartment complex. I am not going to hire a lawyer for this, but I may be forced to threaten him with a lawyer if he gives me trouble. Can someone in the legal field give me any advice as to who I should be collecting a reimbursement from? I am very confused and very frustrated...
CC, When you go to the storage lot, they should have a sign posted somewhere about where to direct complaints to. It should be an address in Austin. Whats the name of the storage lot? I probably know them and might be able to help.
The name of the towing company is Double Impact Towing. The name of the storage lot is Absolutely. It is located @ 6735 Willardville in Houston. Telephone # 713-991-0841
Thats over by Hobby Airport right? I know of the lot, but not well enough to go to bat for you. You have the picture. The next thing you need to do is get the info off the posted sign at the lot and file a formal complaint with the state ageny that regulates them. More than likely, this will take a while. You could also file a complaint in small claims court. One last option would be to call a local consumer advocate that is on 740 am in the afternoons. His website is www.troubleshooter.com. They usually will call and harass both the apartment complex and the storage lot for you.
I'm no lawyer, nor do I have any clue as to what the law states in matters like these, so what I'm about to say is coming completely out of my ass. That being said, to me it would seem like the apartment complex is responsible. The tow truck company was called to the site at the request of the apartment complex and rendered service, whether it was called for or not. Therefore they deserved to be payed. The apartment complex is the one responsible for calling the tow truck and telling them which car to tow. The tow truck driver is just following orders and didn't tow you under his own authority. In my opinion it should be the apartment complex reimburing you, but in order to get it you'll probably end up blue in the face. Good luck, I hope the owner of the storage lot can help you straighten it out. If anyone knows I'm completely wrong, please let me know.
Yeah, it is located near Hobby Airport. The apartment manager gave me the picture but said that if the storage lot owner asked me where I got it, I should tell him legal counsel. She said that she wasn't supposed to give me the picture but that since the car doesn't look like it is double parked, she gave it to me as evidence. She is expecting the picture back this afternoon. I told her I would bring it back to her. So, should I even speak with the people at the storage lot?
IMO, Arkoe is right. If the apartment complex is the one that called for the tow, then they are responsible. I believe apartment complexes are considered private property. Therefore, the only people who are authorized to have your car towed in that case, are you or the apartment complex. If the apartment complex told the tow company to tow it off their property without cause, then the apartment complex owes you the money. If someone else called, besides you or the complex, then the tow company is wrong for towing it. CC, Seriously, I would call 1-866-966-HELP (4357) and tell them about your problem. They are on the air for another 1 1/2 hours here. They will tell you who to go after and/or help you go after the responsible party.
I was under the same impression. I thought the apartment complex would be the part reimbursing me. As far as the contract goes, I see tow truck drivers driving around our apartment complex all the time at night when I get ready to go to work. Our apartment complex is quite large and is divided into 2 sections, one on each side of the same road. I don't know exactly how the contract works, but I would assume that the tow truck drivers would tow vehicles according to the apartment complex's regulations. If that is correct, then I would assume the apartment complex would be ulitimately responsible if my vehicle was illegaly towed.
Since the apartment manager said that it doesn't look like it was double parked, you should ask her who called it in. Get that person in a room with the apartment manager and ask why it was towed. I assume that by "double-parked" you mean that you were parked alongside another car that was in a real parking place. Is it possible that the other car was moved between the time the call was made and the time the towing company arrived?
I assumed by double parked, they meant he was taking up two parking spots. That's a horrible problem in apartment complexes...at least everyone I've lived in.
I live in the very back of the apartment complex and the are only 3 vehicles using our section of the parking lot at all times. I would estimate that there are 35 spots available in our section. On that particular night, there was only one vehicle other than mine parked in our section and I was on the opposite side of the parking lot. I was nowhere near another car. As far as the double parking issue, it is when you are supposedly parked within two parking spaces. The more and more I think about this, it seems like the apartment complex should be responsible and they are just trying to steer me in another direction. I think I am about to march right back up to the manager and request her boss's contact info. This is going to get resolved one way or the other. As far as the picture is concerned--She is going to ask for it back...what should I do?
MAKE A GOOD COPY OF THE PICTURE! Oh, and don't tell the lot owner that you got it from "legal counsel!" That's ridiculous, say you got a copy of the pic, and it clearly shows you weren't double parked. Tell him what the aptmt peeps said about him being responsible, and then tell him AND the aptmt people that you will be pursuing this legally & are filing BBB complaints on both unless they figure it out.
The storage lot knows good and well where you got the picture from, because they told you where to get it from. If the towing company has been hired to patrol the lot and use their own discretion when towing vehicles, then that's a different story. I would go and talk to the manager and find out how their contract works, then go from there.
Is the apartment owned by Alliance? I'd take the photo to an Eckard's or something and have a copy made.
This is a MAJOR problem in the Houston area. Illegal towing and charging incredibly ridiculous prices to get your vehicle out happens quite frequently. Problem is very few people go to the trouble of taking these crooks to court. I have a friend that did. He was even threatened with bodily harm. His case made the Houston (Fox 26) news. He won the case, but hardly had any money to show for it after paying the court costs. The point is more people should stand up to these crooks.
Possibly. But, around UT, tow truck drivers are ruthless. They towed me when I had a gf type over. I parked behind her and gaver her my permit (stupid, but I wasn't thinking) and they towed me anyway. I wasn't taking up a parking spot either. I just parked behind her. He said the apt. complex told him to do so, but it's bs. I hate them.
Right, when I read his post I assumed, probably incorrectly, that the apt. complex called the tow truck. I didn't realize that some apts. have a tow truck drive through ever hour or so and check for improperly parked cars.
My "tow" story: About two weeks before my wedding my wife was hit by an old lady who ran a redlight. She wasn't hurt too badly but went to the hospital in an abulance as a precaution. In the meantime, her car gets towed to some lot for storage. My wife ends up being (mostly) okay and goes back to work. She calls the lot where her car is being held and asks them how much the fee will be and that her dad will come by to pick the car up. They lot says the fee is $100.00 per day and that <i>only she</i> can pick the car up. She explains that she works all day and can't get the car but her dad can. The lots insists that only she can get the car and, in the meantime, it will be held for $100.00 per day. So, my wife gives her dad power of attorney (and the documentation to go with it) and he goes to the lot where he is met by a towtruck from the Saturn dealer. He tells the guy at the lot that he is here to pick up the car and pay the storage fee. The guy at the lot (apparently behind a counter) says that he can't get the car, only the owner can. Her dad explans that his daughter has given him power of attorney which gives him the legal right to make decisions for his daughter and he <i>will</i> pick up the car. The guy behind the counter says something to the extent of "if this counter wasn't here, I'd come over there and kick your ass" to my father-in-law. My father-in-law (being something like 6'5" and 200+ pounds) simply walks behind the counter and says "come on". Of course, the guy faced with a much larger man (and no counter between them) doesn't attack. My wife's dad pays the man his money and they tow the car to the dealer to be repaired. Tow lots are scum of the earth. At least the ones in Houston. On a sadder note, my father-in-law was killed in an automobile accident about a year ago and his wrecked vehicle was towed to a lot in Columbus, TX (which was the nearerst town to the accident). The guy at that lot was really nice and reasonable to my wife and I with regard to fees and to flexibility.
Hey, sorry to hear about your F-I-L. I am in the car wreck business and I see stuff like this every day. I am glad to hear that you were finally able to get your wife's car out of there. What the storage lot did was flat out illegal on two counts. 1) Since your wife was taken to the hospital, this type of tow is refered to as a non-owner consent tow or a police tow. What that means is, the tow company is only allowed to charge a set amount for the tow itself (usually around $65 in the city limits). Also, they are restricted in their daily storage fees. Per law, on police/non-owner consent tows, they can only charge max $15/day period. In fact, even on owner consent, most storage lots won't charge more than $30-$45/day. For them to charge you $100/day for storage is absolutely unheard of (in 12 years of being in this business, I have never seen a charge per day that high). So that tells me that storage lot is scum. 2) Your FIL, with a power of attorney, is absolutely entitled to pick up that car on your wife's behalf. In fact, as a I mentioned to CC earlier in this thread, storage lots, by law, are required to post rules and regulations on the front of their building. A POA, as well as a vehicle title, registration or a court order are all supposed to be accepted. So the storage lot was wrong there too. People have to keep in mind that this is how storage lots make their money. They make more off the storage than they do the tow. They will do everything they can to keep your vehicle there longer than it should be. What was the name of the storage lot? Where was it?
Not really pertaining to the original post, but if you can catch it in time, you can usually bribe your way out of it. Say, "I'll give you twenty bucks....." that's the kind of guys they are. Have no respect for them nor most mechanics (esp. just brakes).
