Car Was Towed From in Front of my Condo

Hi all,

This seemed like a good place to get some sound advice.

I live in Connecticut and live with my fiance who owns a condo. We have 2 vehicles and only one driveway to park in. Our condo association has been giving us (as well as others) a hard time about parking overnight in the guest parking and threatened to hand out $50 fines unless we found a different spot to park in. So, she started to park her car a couple hundred feet away in a very dark area of the complex. Her car was vandalized and it was so dark she was afraid to walk to the condo from the spot at night, especially after the vandalism so she started pulling up in front of our house on rare occassion and parking there.

Now, this only happened 3 or 4 times mind you but last Friday, we went outside at around midnight only to find her car, that had only been parked out front for a few hours, gone! We paniced and thought it had been stolen so we called to police. After they arrived, it occurred to me that our condo association may well have towed the car. Our neighbors (aka the association) are older folks who seem to have their own little "click" and like to gossip and chit chat a lot. We don't take part in it and we keep quietly to ourselves. I think this may have irritated them and caused them to have our vehicle towed away. I'd also like to add that they waited until 4:30pm on Friday (labor day weekend), knowing good and well that the towing yard closes at 5 pm and the long weekend would end up costing a fortune.

Nobody came to tell us our car had been towed.. I had to go door to door asking until one of them said "oh yeah, I saw it get towed" (thanks for coming to tell us) I tracked down the towing yard finally and we got our car back today after paying $402.00!!!!

This is ubsurd... I went out front and noticed that No PArking was painted on the ground across the driveway but the sign was totally covered by dirt on our side. Nowhere does it say tow away zone, nor were we warned of this.

Do we have any action worth taking??

Thank you in advance.

I just read this from the CT.gov website but not sure if it applies..

http://www.ct.gov/dmv/cwp/view.asp?a...45372#section3

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Section 3: Vehicles towed or removed from private property upon request of the owners or lessee of the property per Connecticut State Law Title 14 Sec. 14-145.

The following procedures apply to the non-consensual tow of a motor vehicle left without authorization on private property pursuant to Connecticut State Law Title 14 Sec. 14-145.

The non-consensual tow of a motor vehicle left without authorization on private property.

Excluded vehicles are law enforcement, firefighting, rescue, ambulance or emergency vehicles.

Tower must notify the local police department of possession within 2 hours of the tow:
If by telephone, tower must maintain a record of the call including the name of person (officer) contacted.

Vehicle must be identified to the police department - this includes make, model, year, color, registration number (to the extent available), vehicle identification number (VIN), and name and address of registrant.

No storage may be charged prior to giving notice of possession to police department.

If vehicle is not claimed within 48 hours, the tower must complete the DMV form "Motor Vehicle Notice of Tow" (form H-114) and shall mail, by certified mail, copies of the completed form to the owner and to all lien holders of record.

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It sounds like your argument that it was not proper for the car to be towed from that location is weak. Reading between the lines, you knew you weren't supposed to park there. But for some dirt on the road, it's clearly marked "No Parking".

It does not appear that there is any responsibility to the car owner if the police aren't notified of a planned tow. So even assuming the police weren't notified that seems like a dead-end from your standpoint (although the police can seek to penalize those who violate the infraction pursuant to Section 14-145(b) of the Connecticut Motor vehicles code.

You may have a remedy, though, if it is true that the car was completely unavailable for recover over the weekend.

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Quoting Sec. 14-145b. Storage and release of towed motor vehicles.

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(a) Any vehicle towed or removed from private property pursuant to sections 14-145 to 14-145c, inclusive, shall be stored at the site of the towing company's business in a secured storage lot. The site shall be open during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and be reasonably available on Saturday, Sunday and holidays, for the purpose of vehicle redemption.

(b) When a vehicle has been towed or removed pursuant to sections 14-145 to 14-145c, inclusive, it shall be released to its owner, or a person authorized by the owner to regain possession, upon demand, provided the demand is made between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday or at a reasonable time on Saturday, Sunday or holidays and the owner or authorized person presents proof of registration, pays the costs of towing or removal and of storage, or signs a declaratory statement that the towed or removed vehicle was taken illegally. Any vehicle owner, or agent of the owner, shall have the right to inspect the vehicle before accepting its return, and no general release of any kind which would release the person or firm towing or removing or storing the vehicle from liability for damages may be required from any vehicle owner, or his agent, as a condition of release of the vehicle. A receipt showing the name of the person or firm towing or removing the vehicle and an itemization of the charges shall be provided to the person paying the towing or removal and storage costs at the time of payment.

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You may be able to recover the fees you paid from the condo association:

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Quoting Sec. 14-145c. Liability of property owner or lessee for improper towing or removal of motor vehicle.

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Whenever an owner or lessee of private property, or his agent, improperly causes a motor vehicle to be towed or removed from such property, the owner or lessee of the property shall be liable to the owner of the vehicle for the costs of towing or removal and of storage of the vehicle and for reasonable attorney's fees and court costs, if applicable.

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Thank you for taking the time to look into it.

I DID call the towing company on saturday at 12pm after I talked to some neighbors and found it's location. They told me that they would not be open until Tuesday (today) due to the holiday. It was odd to me that I could not pick up my car even though there was clearly someone there to answer. I know it was not an answing service because I drove by the place and their auto garage was indeed open.

So do you suggest I write a letter demanding payment and citing the ct.gov article? (sorry I just don't have much experience with this and we're very frustrated)

Thanks again

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Quoting angry_owner

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I DID call the towing company on saturday at 12pm after I talked to some neighbors and found it's location. They told me that they would not be open until Tuesday (today) due to the holiday. It was odd to me that I could not pick up my car even though there was clearly someone there to answer.

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I use to work for a towing service and on holidays I would be in doing paper work and billing. As a office worker at the company I answered the phone and told callers the hours. Sometimes people would ask to pick up their cars and I did not have access to the storage lots so I would just repeat the day that we would be open and explain the fees for the storage.

Just because someone answers the phone doesn't mean that you can make demands on them in this sort of business. Holidays are very busy times due to accidents, illegal parking, and police stops.

The statute requires that the car be made available at a reasonable time. If the towing company is not prepared to live up to that requirement, companies which employ it risk being liable to the person who is towed for the towing and storage fees.

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Quoting aaron

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The statute requires that the car be made available at a reasonable time. If the towing company is not prepared to live up to that requirement, companies which employ it risk being liable to the person who is towed for the towing and storage fees.

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True Aaron but it is unreasonable to have lot managers work legal holidays, in example, Christmas Day, New Years Eve and Day, Memorial Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving Day. So the next available day is reasonable however some people would see it as unfair and unreasonable. I use to get cussed out by *reasonable* people all the time.

It doesn't matter if you deem it "unreasonable". It's what the statute requires.