Car got towed... They charged $125 BS fees... Can I take this to small claims?

[nick1985]

man...I remember when my car got towed. It was street cleaning. I was late by 2 minutes. They guy was already putting my car on the back of the truck. Cost me $330 to get it out.

Fuck....sounds like you need a gang of Armenian friends

 

[Cuda1447]

Maybe it's a stupid question... but can't you just pay with a Credit Card then dispute the charges with your bank?

 

[ViperXX]

I would just go blow shit up. It's the direction the country's heading in. Government is corrupt. They just keep printing money driving the cost of everything up. It's your car, go get it.

 

[HeXen]

Maybe it's a stupid question... but can't you just pay with a Credit Card then dispute the charges with your bank?

i tried that once when i didnt get a shipped item i ordered. its not really as cut and dry as it sounds. i guess if it was, then no one would be in CC debt.

 

[Schfifty Five]

They pulled this kinda shit on one of my old roommates crazy armenian gang friends in college. They went in at night and smashed up a bunch of the trucks as payback, so yeah. Karma is a bitch sometimes.

I assume that the trucks they smashed were tow trucks belonging to the towing company and not some other folks vehicles that were in the lot right?

If it's the former, then kudos

If the latter, you screwed over the wrong people.

 

[amdhunter]

Do what I did. A tow truck company towed my car and forced me to pay $100 instead of $75 like I should have paid (private parking lot) and I used a VoIP program to phone bomb their ass.

I harrassed them for 2 weeks nonstop until I got bored and stopped. Even after that, I called every few days from a pay phone and asked them if they wanted me to call more.

This was before VoIP services had caller ID though. Maybe you could fuck with them with a prepaid phone or something.

 

[alkemyst]

well that tends to happen when you are a drugged out piece of shit like him. he can't help it.

you of all people are talking about being drugged out = piece of shit?

 

[aceO07]

That's a bit steep for towing.

I've had a pretty bad towing experience visiting Baltimore. Near the Inner Harbor area, the street have parking and use electronic meter machines. On the machines, in small print, it states that cars are towed after 4pm. Since it was in small print and we were in a hurry to explore, we didn't notice it.

Yes, it was our fault, but it was damn sneaky of them not have to signs in big print. It cost over $200 to get the car out and extra fees if using credit card. All just to tow it half a mile and store it for an hour.

It seems like a scam between the city and the towing company to generate money off visitors. Oh, they also have 2 city cops watching over everything. 1 sitting inside where people were lining up to pay and 1 standing outside. Seems like a great racket.

 

[gevorg]

Maybe it's a stupid question... but can't you just pay with a Credit Card then dispute the charges with your bank?

This! Dispute the charge and say they overcharged you 10x. If it gets to collections (unlikely but possible), then go to small claims and sue those bastards.

 

[alkemyst]

Most tow companies require cash for forced tows.

 

[gevorg]

Most tow companies require cash for forced tows.

Not in CA, dunno OP's state, so YMMV.

http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22658.htm

 

[sandorski]

When I worked Dispatch at a towing company, people got pissed at the $69 for a similar situation, lol. $400 is fucking ridiculous. Any kind of "After hours" fee is also ridiculous, they need someone there 24/7 just for Security.

 

[Kanalua]

Learn to tell your sister where to park where she wont get towed. Save yourself $$.

 

[Gibson486]

Maybe it's a stupid question... but can't you just pay with a Credit Card then dispute the charges with your bank?

Not so easy anymore. You need proof and everything now, even with Amex. 2 years ago, I got gas and filled up my tank. My statement comes, I see the amount for a fill up (around $36), then another charge on the same day for $45 from the same place. I was like, "WTF! A mazda 3 can't take that much gas!". I dispute it and just because the gas station provided them with 2 receipts (with no signatures since it was a swipe at the pump), I lost. I continued to dispute and they kept referring back to the 2 receipts from the gas station. Now, I only use my Amex for stuff like car rentals and big electronic purchases. No more daily use.

 

[ioni]

That's a stupid high towing fee. My car got a BS tow earlier this year (my parking sticker fell off my windshield over night) and the fee was $125 and I thought that was insane.

Court is such a pain. I'd go with the news option.

 

[Ricemarine]

I bet if you take it to KOMO, they'll eat it up easy.

 

[olds]

Who had you towed. the city or property owner?
If the city, whine to them about the company telling you to come down at 2 then charging you extra for doing so.

 

[wand3r3r]

Wow, people had pretty good responses. Karma (hopefully) will bite them in the end. Revenges is sweet.

 

[SunnyD]

1. Buy a tow truck.
2. Stalk and tow towing company's trucks and personal vehicles.
3. ...
4. Profit!

 

[Cuda1447]

Not so easy anymore. You need proof and everything now, even with Amex. 2 years ago, I got gas and filled up my tank. My statement comes, I see the amount for a fill up (around $36), then another charge on the same day for $45 from the same place. I was like, "WTF! A mazda 3 can't take that much gas!". I dispute it and just because the gas station provided them with 2 receipts (with no signatures since it was a swipe at the pump), I lost. I continued to dispute and they kept referring back to the 2 receipts from the gas station. Now, I only use my Amex for stuff like car rentals and big electronic purchases. No more daily use.

Maybe its a YMMV thing. I've had success with my Bank of America card. Blockbuster charged me for services after I had already told them I canceled. Tried talking with the manager but to no avail. So I just disputed the charges with my bank and they were refunded. That was a year or two ago, but it was pretty easy with them.

 

[mugs]

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=204-91A-140

(4) After hours release fee. After hour fees must:

(a) Be based on a flat, hourly rate;

(b) Be applied to the resulting net time and, after the first hour, must be rounded to the nearest fifteen minutes;

(c) Be no more than one-half of the class "A" rate; and

(d) Apply on any weekday after 5 p.m. and before 8 a.m.; Saturday or Sunday; and state recognized holidays. If the operator or employee is called to the place of business specifically for the purpose of releasing the vehicle and/or property, an "after hours fee," may be assessed.

It looks like the fee was legal. He told you to come at 2 p.m. because another person was picking up their car then, so it sounds like one of the drivers (the one whose truck was parked in front of the sign) was there for the purpose of releasing those cars.

I doubt you'd win in small claims court.

 

[nick1985]

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=204-91A-140



It looks like the fee was legal. He told you to come at 2 p.m. because another person was picking up their car then, so it sounds like one of the drivers (the one whose truck was parked in front of the sign) was there for the purpose of releasing those cars.

I doubt you'd win in small claims court.

Yes, unfortunately scam operations tend to know the law quite well.

 

[Mermaidman]

Google "predatory towing" and you'll see many stories. This was a big story in my city last summer. Lots of media coverage and the city enacted some laws to regulate towing.

 

[nick1985]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piq05eFrDxs&feature=related

 

[FelixDeCat]

Luckily we control towing and storage around here. The last tow bill was "only" $125 overnight.

That doesnt apply to "extreme" towing however:

FORT WORTH, Texas - A construction company has recovered a forklift that was taken for a joyride. But it hasn’t recovered from the sticker shock caused by the towing bill.

Fort Worth police chased a stolen forklift through city streets and onto the highway this past Sunday. Officers arrested the alleged drunken driver on Interstate 30.

Kent Companies owner Brian McKinney was relieved to find out the forklift was fine until he saw the towing bill – $1,225.

“That’s outrageous. I can’t believe that,” McKinney said. “We have the forklift moved all the time for $225 from Dallas to Fort Worth.”

Apparently the first tow truck police called to the scene couldn’t do the job. But it still sat and billed McKinney’s company $432 for two hours.

There’s also a flat fee of $216 for a heavy tow and then a charge for another $513 for a second truck with a trailer.

“I got charged for two trucks and a flat fee, so I got charged three times for one move,” McKinney said.
After FOX 4 started asking questions, the city of Fort Worth agreed to refund McKinney’s company $480 of the towing costs and it plans to follow up with the towing company regarding how it’s billing its hours.
The city council sets the hourly rates with its contracted towing companies. Anyone who wants to dispute a charge can call 817-392-4219.