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  1. #1

    Angry Car Towed from Shared Parking Lot by Unauthorized Tenant

    My question involves towing laws for the State of: California

    My landlord owns a parking lot right outside our apartment, in which he allows tenants to park. I've been parking back there for months, without any problems until now. On Wednesday I parked in a spot that I usually never park in, which I didn't think would be a problem, since none of the spots are marked. The parking lot is essentially a dirt lot. A couple days later, on Saturday morning, I stepped out to find that my car was missing.

    I called the tow company to see if it had been towed, since the landlord has posted signs discouraging people who are not authorized to park there. Apparently, someone had signed to have my car towed (I will be referring to this person as the "signer"), but it was not my landlord (the owner of the parking lot) who did it. I called my landlord and he was shocked that someone had done that. He would never have had our car towed. It turned out that I had parked in the signer's "reserved spot." I was never aware until now that there were reserved spots in the lot, and the landlord had never told us this either.

    First of all, does this signer actually have towing authority? I believed that the only people that should have towing authority are the owner, and anyone that the owner gives that authority to, which in this case, was not the signer. My landlord was actually pretty upset that someone felt entitled to have my car towed. Should the towing company have checked that the person that had my car towed actually had towing authority? Secondly, the towing company did not require the signer to provide any form of legal identification. The signer could have given them a fake name and a fake phone number.

    When I got to the impound lot, they told me that if my car was unlawfully towed, that the signer would be responsible for up to 4x the impound fee. However, they never disclosed the identify of the signer to me, and they said that it was not up to them to go after the signer for the impound fee. Then they told me that I would have to wait till Monday to have my landlord get this sorted out with the owner of the towing company, so I ate the $700 loss to get my car back.

    I'm pretty angry with the towing company and the signer. What can I do?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Behind a Desk
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    98,846

    Default Re: Car Towed from Shared Parking Lot by Unauthorized Tenant

    Is the lot posted? If so, what do the signs say?

    I doubt that the person had any authority to request the tow. Didn't your landlord confirm that the tenant had no such authority when you spoke with him? Your comment suggests as much.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    California
    Posts
    666

    Default Re: Car Towed from Shared Parking Lot by Unauthorized Tenant

    If all is as you say it is, you should sue the towing company in small claims court for your costs. You should also contact your local police department and file a complaint against the towing company for auto theft.

    The towing company may tell you that you need to take action against this unnamed "signer", however, if they towed your car without proper authority, it really doesn't matter if there was an unauthorized signer or not. They are the ones who towed your car. Your action is against them. If they want to take action against this "signer" that is their problem, not yours.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Car Towed from Shared Parking Lot by Unauthorized Tenant

    The tow co. may not remove the car without the written authorization of the property owner, owner's agent, etc. Another tenant does not usually fall into this category. The authorizing person must be there to sign the tow tag and validate the tow.
    Altho the tow co. must give you a copy of the tow tag, they must edit out the part that gives information about the person who authorized the tow. You would have to go to the landlord for that
    It seems the law puts the burden on tow co's to make sure the person is authorized. They would normally have names of persons authorized by the owner/mgt co for that address, or they would call the owner to make sure.
    However, if this "signer" represented that they had the authority from the landlord, that's another story. I would start with the tow company and see where it goes. Let them call the landlord and get the story behind this "signer"

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