Crooked Tow Company

[mlynch]

I am wondering on how to proceed here... sorry if its lengthy

I am in florida

I made an error in judgment when i sold a car recently i just signed over the title and took a cash payment... long story short several weeks later the car gets towed and as far as everyone is concerned the car still belongs to me as the new owner never switched it over or registered it.

First complaint I wasn't notified untill after the tow company had the car for 8 days... i was told by them they are not required to send out a letter untill 36 hours and then after that its not in their hands. they got the car on the 14th sent out a letter on the 16th... i receive the letter in the mail the 19th but wasnt there to sign for it so i had to wait till the 20th to pick it up from the post office. So the tow company charged for 8 days of storage plus a admin fee and tow fee and long story short it was a 400 dollar tow bill they wanted from me.

So i view the car after several hours of hassle with the tow company (sand baggin trying to get extra storrage time they finally showed me the car 30 min before they closed) I dont have a key to the car and there was some damage to it anyway. So i decide i will pay their disposal fee ($300 to avoid more cost of storage) but they wont let me take anything from the car. Not the radio or the battery or anything usefull at all.

The explanation from the owner is that its private property and his rules and he doesnt HAVE to let anyone do mechanical work and removing the stereo amp speakers or battery is mechanical work... but he offered to sell the stuff back to me and take it out himself(at a rediculous price). This has scam written all over it. i am paying THEM to dispose of the car. He has what is technically my property in his possesion and scammed me out of it. He said its just what he has to do to make money and he cant have people back there messing with the cars. (yet there were several people who payed his fees working on getting their cars running so they could take the car home) I signed a waivor just like everyone else saying he wasnt responsible for anything before i could veiw the car(this just so i even knew what they had back there since i sold it several weeks earlier and had no clue what condition the vehicle was in). He then swore up and down he doesnt sell the parts to the cars and was doing me a favor... uh huh. I didnt buy anything back...

This seems like there has to be something illeagal about this and he is making up his own rules and just in general he runs a crooked company.

I dont have any recourse against the original buyer of the car because i have poor documentation. To add insult to injury the tow company stuck it to me so can i go after them for anything?


Thanks in advance
-Matt

[Mr. Knowitall]

If you want to cannibalize the car, pay to get it back, take what you want, then dispose of it.

[mlynch]

they wanted signifigantly more to give me the car back... and even then i would have to pay to tow it away from there as i dont have the key in my possesion or even know if it runs

and i am looking for legal advice about the law from here on out... keep the pointless suggestions to yourselves

[Mr. Knowitall]

I'll let baystategirl take over from here.

[mlynch]

sorry mr knowitall... dont mean to sound snippy

read this thread you sill see why i wasnt looking to hear opinions or suggestions and why i am jsut looking to get my question answered

http://forum.freeadvice.com/showthre...29#post1595229