My apartment complex towed my old, secondary, battery-drained car about a week ago (did not notice it gone til now).
Per the tow company, it will cost about $650 to get it released today (charges could eventually accrue to max $2000). Or I can transfer title to them and probably pay $450. Or I can leave it be and eventually have their collections dept report it to the credit reporting companies. Screwed no matter what…
The car is only worth about $800, not to mention a dead battery and suspension needing repair. Furthermore, my ex-wife’s name is still on the title. (I suppose I can have her sign it over to me to protect from the bad credit aspect).
I had originally planned to donate it to charity…Now I don’t know what to do!
Can I go ater the apt complex legally? Can I just let the car go and somehow protect myself from the collections activity? Sure could use some advice…thanks!
The car was towed because it appeared abandoned and the tags were expired.
They had put a notice on my windshield which stated that it appeared abandoned and had expired tags and, therefore, they were going to tow it unless I did something about it.
I cleaned it up and went to the office to ask them not to tow and gave them my name and address. I also told her that I would get the new tags. The lady I spoke to said she’d let the Manager know not to tow it.
Well, about a week and a half later, it was towed.
It was suggested that I just report it stolen…but won’t the cops come back and just tell me it was towed and contact the tow company?
I think the only viable thing I can do now is sign the title over to the tow company, have them sell it to a junk yard, and bill me for the remainder of the storage charges. Then pursue the apt complex to pay the bill. I wish there were a way out of this…
I actually reported my car stolen after my mother told me it had been towed. The tow was 250, I had bought the thing for 200. After 3 days, I called the tow company and told them I ain’t paying after it had been stolen, and good luck selling it, and offered the title.
It was amazing how the POS pickup suddenly was able to be released for FREE. I told them they took it, so it’s their problem now. Never got reported to a credit company
But it **was ** stolen. Stolen by the tow company as instructed by the apartment complex lady.
A note was on your windshield basically asking the owner to identify themselves. Presumably to establish whether it was abandoned or not. Given that you did identify yourself and had assurances that it would not be towed then your car has been stolen.
My view would be to call the lady at the apartment complex and give her what for. Ask why she authorised the towing company to steal your car. Tell her to get it back to exactly where it was or you’ll report her to the police for instigating the crime.
IANAL, etc., etc. I would say you do not have much of a case if the rules for your apartment complex cover abandoned or unsightly vehicles. When you signed your contract (perhaps you should find a copy) it should/might have something in there stating such.
Also, your local county or city might have laws covering the same thing and perhaps you need to do a little investigating.
You could report it as stolen to the police, but it sounds like a losing battle to me, especially since you seemed to call the tow company to find out how much it costs to get back. This would prove in court that you know it was not stolen. You had expired tags, apparently the car was there for a while, and you seemed to have a warning, despite you contacting some lady who probably makes $6 an hour. She probably does not have the authority to have something towed away.
How is your credit now? If it is good, consider it an investment to get it taken care of, write off the loss, and move on. Not to sound cruel, but it is your fault. If you do not pay after a certain time, the tow company probably is allowed to sell it at auction and get the money it is worth ($800 you say), so either way they will win.
You can try to fight it, go to court yourself, and see what happens. Good luck.
Exactly. O2BDumb was warned; he told them he’d take care of it; he didn’t.
I’d make the best deal I could. If the tow company will take the car in lieu of any payments, go for it. Otherwise, just get out of it the cheapest you can, with or without the trash car.
