my car was towed this afternoon after I left it unattended for 2 minutes to get money out of an ATM. According to employees at the convenience store, the tow trucks hide and wait to strike multiple times a day in this lot. He didn't even have my car hooked up when I ran up to the truck. I was screaming at the guy, pleading with him not to take my car... to no avail. Apparently this is very profitable since they charged me $238 just 30 minutes later to get my car out of impound... makes me wonder why the owner of the impound has no teeth! Anyway, I've been searching for laws regarding max nonconsent towing fees in TX, Dallas. I've tried looking on the Dallas county website, but can't find any info. Anyone have a clue where else I might look?
Is this a public lot, a private lot associated with a particular business, or what? Are any parking regulations posted, including reference to the appropriate local ordinance? There were problems in San Francisco, and in San Jose, California, with towing companies towing cars for no violation. Finally the cities and the local DAs acted and put them out of business, but it took years of complaints to get action. The most effective action by the consumers fleeced was to get reporting by local TV and newspaper consumer reporters. That finally got enough pressure to get prosecution.
Did the towing company have a contract with the lot owner, whether public or private, to tow cars illegally parked in that lot? If not, file police report for auto theft and extortion, contact the press, file suit in small claims court. If this is a rogue tower from a public lot contact your city elected officials and local DA. If it is a private lot associated with a business you were stopping at, include them in your small claims suit. If this upsets them, tell them they can take legal action against the towing company themselves to prevent trespass and theft from their customers.
FYI http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/10/29/state2305EST0244.DTL http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/news/iteam/112303_iteam_hercules.html http://boston.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2002/02/11/daily55.html
In the San Francisco case, the final straw was when the city realized they were not being paid their cut of the towing fees.
How to handle next time Headline: Firefighter trainee held after gun incident Dallas: Driver was trying to tow SUV from lot, officials say Published: May 20, 2005 Summary: A Dallas apprentice firefighter was arrested after he pulled a gun on a tow truck driver trying to remove his Cadillac Escalade from a convenience store parking lot, officials said. Police and fire officials say that about 12:30 a.m. Thursday, a tow truck was preparing to take Jason Jerome Crear's sport utility vehicle from the parking lot of a 7-Eleven in the 7000 block of Greenville Avenue when he approached the truck's window and began pounding on the tow truck demanding his car.
How to handle next time "they charged me $238 just 30 minutes later to get my car out of impound... " The towing company in SF was doing much the same thing. Their charges were beyond what was specified in their city contract. Check with the city and see what is allowed.
