Jennifer
Salinas,#2Consumer Comment
Thu, July 12, 2007
Ok so your vehicle was towed from private property. I know that in some states, such as California "predatory towing" (where tow trucks patrol parking lots and take it upon themselves to remove vehicles if the owner is not a customer/tenant, or if if the vehicle has no permit if the lot requires one) is illegal. A car can only be towed from private property if the property manager/property owner personally calls the tow truck company and requests them to remove the vehicle. From what you said, it looks as the tow company refused to tell you who authorized your car to be towed right? So at this point you don't know if Sushi King called the tow company, or if the tow company patrols the parking lot on its own (which is what it sounds like ) I would definitely look this up in the Texas Vehicle Code and see what laws might have been violated. You were a customer of the Sushi King and if the car was towed while you were inside, then whoever authorized the tow is responsible. If the tow company was hired to monitor the parking lot and no one authorized them to tow you car and that type of practice is legal in Texas, then the car should be released back to you at no charge, and the fee's owed are to be paid by the person authorizing the tow, or again if no one called the tow company in the first place, then they are owed nothing! At the very least, you should file a small claims action against the tow company as long as you can prove it was a mistake .If you have your receipt from the Sushi King or maybe even a bank or credit card statement than that should be enough, because I know that the law requires tow companies to document each and every car they tow and their paperwork should have the same date and time frame as your receipt, however if they are as shady as they sound they will probably falsify their records. Either way, you are the victim here and even if Texas has no laws against predatory towing, you are not responsible for someone else's mistake!
Jennifer
Salinas,#3Consumer Comment
Thu, July 12, 2007
Ok so your vehicle was towed from private property. I know that in some states, such as California "predatory towing" (where tow trucks patrol parking lots and take it upon themselves to remove vehicles if the owner is not a customer/tenant, or if if the vehicle has no permit if the lot requires one) is illegal. A car can only be towed from private property if the property manager/property owner personally calls the tow truck company and requests them to remove the vehicle. From what you said, it looks as the tow company refused to tell you who authorized your car to be towed right? So at this point you don't know if Sushi King called the tow company, or if the tow company patrols the parking lot on its own (which is what it sounds like ) I would definitely look this up in the Texas Vehicle Code and see what laws might have been violated. You were a customer of the Sushi King and if the car was towed while you were inside, then whoever authorized the tow is responsible. If the tow company was hired to monitor the parking lot and no one authorized them to tow you car and that type of practice is legal in Texas, then the car should be released back to you at no charge, and the fee's owed are to be paid by the person authorizing the tow, or again if no one called the tow company in the first place, then they are owed nothing! At the very least, you should file a small claims action against the tow company as long as you can prove it was a mistake .If you have your receipt from the Sushi King or maybe even a bank or credit card statement than that should be enough, because I know that the law requires tow companies to document each and every car they tow and their paperwork should have the same date and time frame as your receipt, however if they are as shady as they sound they will probably falsify their records. Either way, you are the victim here and even if Texas has no laws against predatory towing, you are not responsible for someone else's mistake!
Jennifer
Salinas,#4Consumer Comment
Thu, July 12, 2007
Ok so your vehicle was towed from private property. I know that in some states, such as California "predatory towing" (where tow trucks patrol parking lots and take it upon themselves to remove vehicles if the owner is not a customer/tenant, or if if the vehicle has no permit if the lot requires one) is illegal. A car can only be towed from private property if the property manager/property owner personally calls the tow truck company and requests them to remove the vehicle. From what you said, it looks as the tow company refused to tell you who authorized your car to be towed right? So at this point you don't know if Sushi King called the tow company, or if the tow company patrols the parking lot on its own (which is what it sounds like ) I would definitely look this up in the Texas Vehicle Code and see what laws might have been violated. You were a customer of the Sushi King and if the car was towed while you were inside, then whoever authorized the tow is responsible. If the tow company was hired to monitor the parking lot and no one authorized them to tow you car and that type of practice is legal in Texas, then the car should be released back to you at no charge, and the fee's owed are to be paid by the person authorizing the tow, or again if no one called the tow company in the first place, then they are owed nothing! At the very least, you should file a small claims action against the tow company as long as you can prove it was a mistake .If you have your receipt from the Sushi King or maybe even a bank or credit card statement than that should be enough, because I know that the law requires tow companies to document each and every car they tow and their paperwork should have the same date and time frame as your receipt, however if they are as shady as they sound they will probably falsify their records. Either way, you are the victim here and even if Texas has no laws against predatory towing, you are not responsible for someone else's mistake!
Karen
Houston,#5Consumer Suggestion
Wed, July 11, 2007
You have 14 business days after the tow to file a towing complaint downtown Houston. Pay $20 and they will give you a towing hearing. We were also towed by them in another lot that had illegal signage. Read the requirements, and take pictures of the lot, or provide your receipt from lunch (or both) as proof of illegal tow. They knew they would lose our case and didn't show up. Now we just have to try to collect, but we will go after them