fahrfegneugen

If you have to take them to small claims, it will only cost about $50.

Sorry to see that, what bs they did that to you.

04RX8man

tow truck drivers can b ******** but i would see what i would get out of it hey maybe the MS front bumper haha....

EdwardsB

also, bring up the fact of the $40 you had to pay him, see if it is indeed a company policy. if he was trying to make some money under the table or rip the towing company off of $40, you might get him trouble in the end as well.

congrats on staying smooth...i would have been furious!

Symbioticgenius

Call that towing guys boss, tell him to send a truck to to your car to your body shop, or, he can pay for someone else to do it. Then hand his driver the estimate, tell him to bring it to his boss... better yet, make the boss come along for the ride. Hand it to him in person.

fkoolaggie

I was pretty pissed first of all because it was 8 in the morning and I ran out in my boxers lol then cuz he lifted it the car when i told him not to. I seriously felt he was just trying to take it behind my back. I flung my credit card and if he didn't look like an ex con I would have been more tempted to throw a swing lol

EdwardsB

Out here they get you with the $40, but if you never heard this where you live check into it. It really is bs, like he really did $40 worth of work.

fkoolaggie

I checked online and they do have a $40 drop fee. Doesn't give a discription of what a drop fee is, what it consists of. He didn't have anything tied together yet, the car wasn't lifted yet. would have been easier to just pull out and remove it under the car I was going to pay the $40 dollars...

saxdogg

Keep in mind you parked where you shouldn't, that started the whole incident. The tow truck driver could have still taken it, despite your objection, if he had wanted to.

You guys who think the police and the tow truck drivers have some scheme going is just retarded. Tow trucks towing from parking lots is a civil matter, not a criminal one. We (the police) don't get involved in most of those towing matters for that simple fact. We have nothing to do with it, just as we don't come into a privately-owned parking lot (like apartments) and write parking tickets. It's up to the owner to decide how to enforce.

Tow trucks do have "drop fees" as described. Now, I agree the guy shouldn't have damaged the car if he did so, and if so, you have a good civil case against them. Start mounting your evidence and case now and embarrass them in the court.

JP

fkoolaggie

I stated I shouldn't have parked their that was my fault. He did agree I would let the car go for $40. I personally have never been towed before so I didn't know this kinda fee existed he could have easily said $200 dont' know the difference. I told him If I want to verify this with his boss and he agreed. Does that mean he has a right to continue to strap the car together then lift the car. When we agree he would a) leave it alone for $40 bucks b) I tell him dont' lift it up. He had bearly put his lift under my car. What would you assume coming outside and you see your car lifted after the 2 reasons stated above? that he obviously is trying to take it behind my back. It costs him more work to finish tighitn everything, lifthing then taking it all off. then just taking it off in the first place.
And the the police officer I disagree the tow truck guy called him and he came asap 8 min. at tops. He sighed when I asked him for a police report. He was very unhelpful. Kinda rude to me didn't seem to care, gave me no explanation on what to do with the police report. Was actually being pretty buddy buddy with the tow man. I talked to my brother law who was a patrol man for years and now a detective and he told me he handled the situation very poorly with no order. So a complaint is being filed with him as well.

Razz1

Small claims court.

always.anthony

wow i hate tow truck drivers, they are like sharks. and most of the times they are dumbasses.

friend was being stupid and he drove into a ditch

long story short, it took 2 guys and 1 hour to tow my friend out, lots of undercarriage damage. backed up traffic for 1 HOUR, and they tried about 5 different wats of getting him out. if you notice, the roads are wet. the final try was to LIFT HIM OUT, which they could've done at first so he recieved no damage. and guess what? lifting him out worked!

tunerwannab

iTrader: (1)

Good luck.

RX8Sinner

I've had a car towed. I was at William Patterson University (My Friend goes there), i had parked my Saturn SC2 in lot 5 where A CAMPUS EMPLOYEE TOLD ME TO PARK. I had to fill out forms with my license plate number and the whole nine yards to register my vehicle with the public saftey (Campus Police Station) and to register myself as a visitor for the night. Well i'm at my friends dorm, next morning about 7:30 we're leaving to go to play airsoft and my car is gone! The campus police had it towed for being in the wrong lot. Its bullshit some of this towing ****, AND a parking ticket. But not much you can do.

Anyway, the reason he would still try and tow the car away, he makes MORE money by towing it away than by saying $40 and i'll disconnect. Most companies charge a hitching fee (IE: Putting the car on the truck), then per mile it is towed. Therefore they would have hit you with the Hitching Fee (Probably about $40) and mileage usually between $5 - $15.

But you have PICTURES of the damage, and PICTURES of the tow truck bending your lower spoiler. therefore you have all the proof you need, and more importantly, you have a picture WITH your license plate number, so its not just a random picture from the internet.

Drive your *** out to a body shop get an estimate, then drive to the tow company, ask to speak with the manager/boss. Show him the damage estimate, then politely demand that he pay for the repairs, if he refuses, show him the pictures, if he still refuses threaten with small claims court. IF he continues refuse file a law suit against them, contact the BBB again. Perhaps even a local media company? I know fox 5 NY or another NY station has a "Shame on You" section of the 5 oclock news that humiliates business owners who conduct shitty business.

Here is what is being done/replaced on my car: and the total estimate so far for my damage which is similar to what your describing. And the fact it bent the front spoiler, you don't know if there is damage on the back side of the fron bumper cover from flexing the body on the car while the hydrolic lift was on. And you'll probably be out of a car for a day or so.

TOTAL: $662.22
Total Labor: (My estimate, they'll probably milk time) 5 hrs @ ~$40/hr
Front Retainer : $117.62
RT Retaining Bracket: $17
LT Retaining Bracket: $17
Front Spoiler: $128.60
Cover Plate: $28.00
Under Cover: $154.00

mine is a little more involved because they have to paint/remove my bumber cover and such because of where the tread hit. But thats the relevant parts I could think of to the dmg that may have been caused on your car without actually looking at it.

BTW i found zip ties work fairly well at holding the undercover is the proper places because your radiator is really exposed otherwise.

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (3)

Actually no, if the person came out and agreed to pay the fee to release the vehicle on the spot, he is obligated by law to leave it instead of trying to rack up more. If the guy was making the driver wait around to try and come up with the money then I could see him just taking it on to the tow yard, but if he was standing there with payment in hand, there isnt much defense for the tow driver.


Yeah, cops do say that...depending on the situation. If someone backs into/runs into you in a parking lot, then the cops are hesitant to do anything and won't assign any blame, because the parking lot is "private property" and "not their jurisdiction".

But, if you are doing a burnout or driving a bit too fast in that same parking lot, the cop WON'T HESITATE to come in there and bust your ***.

Ask me how I know...been there, done that...both of them.

Years ago I was driving into my work parking lot, driving up an aisle of travel between where you park, as normal. At the end of a row of cars, from behind one of them, pops out another girl in her car cutting across the parking lot rows, and she runs right into me. Cops get called, they come and initially do not want to have any part of it, saying "private property". I request a report be made and they finally do, but it says nothing about who was at fault, or what the circumstances were. Cop says he cannot place blame because it is private property, not his jurisdiction, and my insurance will probably have to cover my damage instead of her insurance covering my damage.

Also years ago, I was leaving another parking lot. The lot was largely empty, but out to one side adjacent to the road, were a row of car guys lined up shooting the **** after work, some of which I knew and talked **** with about cars from time to time. So I decided to kick the rx-7 sideways a little (about 2 seconds worth) for them as I exited the parking lot onto the access drive, that led out to the main road. No one was anywhere near me at the time, all the cars were on the other side of the lot. I probably got up to 30mph at most, for a few seconds. I came to a stop at the end of the access road and then saw that a cop was sitting on the other side of the main road, running speed for cars coming the other way. As I leave he pulls me over and gives me a bunch of ****, charges me with reckless driving etc. saying that the lot is "public access" and therefore part of his jurisdiction. I had to call in a favor to get out of the bullshit charge.

So bottom line, IMO, when there is something in it for them, the cops say that private lots are public access and part of their jurisdiction, but when they have better things to do, private lots are "private property" and not part of their job.

8 Maniac

iTrader: (1)

towing can be BS sometimes. There's a spot at my complex with a pole in front of it, which is where my girlfriend parked one night. She goes out and her car is gone. Why? It was a handicapped spot. What indication was there? A pole, which had its sign removed, and paint so faded you can barely see it in the day time, let alone night. I complained and said they were at fault for not having it properly marked. They told me they recently painted it and that they cant be blamed. They repainted the whole parking area (lines, handicap symbols etc) the next week. Seeing as it's still clear about 5 months later, I dont think they had just recently painted it. Oh well.

You should be able to get your damages covered and definitely dont let them get away with it. Look at it this way... if they have enough people like you call in to have their damages paid for, maybe they'll finally have to change their rules and require the drivers actually do things right.

edit: short story. I have a covered spot at my complex and had a white SUV park there one night. Was kind of pissed since it was late and I had to walk from across the complex due to no parking near my place. I left a note under the wiper to let them know that it was a reserved spot, in case they had not realized. Couple nights later, they were there again. Left another note saying that I would have to call it in the next time it happened. Didn't see them for about a week or 2, but sure enough. 3rd time. I call the office, they said they'd check it out. Went back out a couple hours later and my spot was empty. All that was there were 2 tire marks about a foot long each. I tried being nice, let them know twice and warned them I would call it in. What'd they do? said "screw that" and did it again. At least go to another spot... that person deserved it for being that stupid.

fkoolaggie

Thanks for all the input. I will be taking your advice going to the body shop tmrw, getting an estimate, asking him to pay for the cost and if not going to small claims court. I'll keep you posted.

saxdogg

Maybe that is Tennessee law...could you link me to the code stating this?

On public vs. private property responses, it's because those are two different situations, to which two different laws apply, which is different by state anyways, so making a blanket argument on laws is pointless in a forum.

JP

ken-x8

I'm curious about one thing. You parked in someone else's reserved spot. Where did they wind up parking that night?

Ken

Devil In You

Well... saying that tow truck drivers' are sharks is just kinda generalistic... because my brother is actually nice as hell when he does it (he's a trucker) and all his co-workers are really nice about it. They help as much as they can (they are already out there doing something... ya know?). But yeah, small claims court. My brother is a driver, and he's not allowed to do that. That guy was really a jerk and messing with your car was really f**ked up... He broke one of the three man laws....

1. Do not touch a man's woman
2. Do not touch a man's car (should be #1...) <<<<<<
3. Do not touch a man's food.

ken-x8

But the fkoolaggie broke another law:

Never park in someone else's assigned parking space.

So far we've just heard from fkoolaggie. We really need to hear from the owner of the space, the tow truck driver and the officer before deciding who the victim really was.

Ken

Bam-0

obviously they are connected at least here in vegas when i got in a car accident and when i was a passanger on one

both the times the towing guy knows the cops they even say "see you in the next one boss" cause they are connected hahah


obviously the police keeep in tough with the towing company in accidents and arrest where the car has to be taken to the lot.

Tigerfootball

check with the owner of the spot you parked in. If he didn't call it in then I don't believe the tow truck guy had a right to try and tow your car.

Where I used to live, the tow truck company would just come in to the complex where I lived on their own and start towing cars (my rental car got towed WITH a pass, but neither the HOA or the tow truck company would repay, even after threat of legal action and discussions with a lawyer friend). either way though, they would come in at will and tow cars and claim the security officer called it in......we didn't have a security officer of any kind, i checked. then they only took cash. no checks or cards. so that company was VERY fishy.

I hate most tow truck companies with a passion, so much so that I argued with one trying to tow my neighbors car, who had an old pass. He told me he didn't want to be out in the middle of the night towing cars and I told him that is what he gets for dropping out of high school. the sad fact is that the office there was in the process of issuing new parking permits, and they hadn't even started on that half of the complex, so something was definitely wrong. in the end, no car was towed that night and I created such a scene that I had people walking outside to see what was going on and even had the owner of the vehicle out there going at it with the tow truck guy. I hate that tow truck company. They are Lil' Joe's Towing in Anderson, SC by the way.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

That also explains why I hate cops so much.

their standard changes every freaking day.

8 Maniac

iTrader: (1)

The apartments have a right to tow it as well. They are supposed to control the environment and maintain satisfaction of customers. I have a reserved spot, and like the fact that they boosted their enforcement and started calling out the tow companies. Had my spot taken multiple times by different people before that. We have some guy that they called something like "security officer". Just a guy on staff to go around checking spots and for noise complaints I assume.

fkoolaggie

Their is really no question on who is the victim. I admitted I should have not parked their. I never said I was right for towing there. If I didn't catch him doing it and he just took to the tow area he would have still ended up damaging my vehicle. The owner of the area did call the tow company. Like I said I was wrong for parking there I was going to pay the fee. He had no right to continue strapping everything on and lifting my vehicle and damaging it. What other story is there to hear?