Hello. I have been on-line trying to see if there is anything I can do about the following situation. Maybe you can all help me. My brother had his car towed to a lot. (He is away at college) I called the lot owner to make arrangements to come in to pay the storage fees and have the car towed to our home. There was a lot of damage the front end of the car, and the passenger side door. We went to pay the fees, and remove personal items before the tow. We also inspected it for it's speaker system. (Two amps and a head unit) They were there. When the car was delivered, they were not. The lot owner is swearing to me up and down that neither he, nor the tow operator, took the items. The lot yard is locked at all times. My other brothers had told me not to trust the tow drivers, lot owners etc., but I went ahead and trusted this guy. Could he be lying to me? Is this common? The items were worth about 1,250.00 and we were going to use that money to help fix the car. I am sad over this and don't know what my next step should be. Thank you.
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We went to pay the fees, and remove personal items before the tow. We also inspected it for it's speaker system. (Two amps and a head unit) They were there. When the car was delivered, they were not.
Well, if this is true, it's pretty clear to me that the guy, or his driver ripped you off.
It's not uncommon for cars to be broken into before towing companies impound them, and the company to get blamed for the theft; it's also pretty common for disgruntled car owners to make false claims because their angry about being towed (we call it the bag-of-cash conundrum), but I'm embarrassed to admit that if your car had a stereo before they delivered it, and none when it arrived.... that's enough to convince me that someone there is a thief.
You need to check with your district court and see if they schedule "impound validity" hearings. This is a hearing for the purpose of contesting impounds and you can raise these theft issues there. If not, you can surly take this guy to a "small claims" hearing. It might cost $30-$50, but is you win you'll get that back.
Remember, your best evidence is that fact that you saw the stereo in the car just before they delivered it. Good Luck!Thank you very much for your quick response. It is extremely appreciated. It definately had the stero system at the lot; and definately did not have it when it was towed from the lot to me. The gentleman told me that he did not take it and that he would check with his driver; I informed him that I just want the stuff back; I don't even have to know who took it. I don't want to have to file the police report and go to court, but I guess I will end up having to. It wasn't impounded (rather towed from an accident from a police call) so the impound hearing will not help me, but I will try the court. I did tell him I would not do anything until I heard from him about the status of the missing items. Again, thank you so much.How much time passed from when you saw the belongings in the vehicle and when they delivered it without them? Is there a chance someone could have broken into the impound lot overnight and took these items and they didn't know until you brought it up? These lots are big targets for theives! but if there was little time between the two I would agree with Bill and take them to court.Hello! It was the next day. The gentleman is supposed to get back to me tonight with a status of the items. Thank you both for your advice!if it was towed by "police from an accident call", did the police "inventory" it before the tow? here in Florida, on accident calls the officers "inventory" the vehicle and issues the towing company a "tow sheet", and we are responsible for everything listed on the sheetNo, they don't do that here. It was towed, we went the next day and inspected it and saw that all the items were there. He didn't get back to me last night and I called him this morning at 11:30 and woke him up; he said he would get back to me in an hour. I think he wants to check out one more person. I have a feeling it is not going to matter to any court because it will be a he-said/she-said thing. If this ever happens to me again I am going to make sure to bring a camera, write up a list and have the lot owner sign it. I guess it will end up being an expensive lesson. Thanks so much.Try asking the company for their insurance information. If the refuse then contact whom ever had your brothers car towed, if it was apartments they should have the insurance information. Keep in mind we as towers are not in the business of ripping people off. We depend on you remembering us and hopfully using us again.