Towing Company Holding my Bro-in-law's car hostage (insurance, vehicle, best)
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So my brother in law is a freshman in college down in Naples, FL. He's kind of a lovable idiot, but he's in a bit of a pickle. He rear ended another driver last week, and as expected it was written up as his fault. (No alcohol involved, but definitely his fault). The fire department got there, and called a tow truck for him. The towing company got there and towed it away without telling him where they were taking it or how much it would cost. (He should have asked these questions at the time, but he didn't). He didn't sign anything, and the tow driver drove off with the car.
He did some research and finally found the tow yard that had the car. He called, and the guy demanded $600 to give him his car back. ($400 for the two, and a $40 per day storage fee). He had towed the car 1.8 miles. The tow guy told him if he didn't come up with the money in a few days, he was keeping/selling the car.
To make matters trickier, the car is probably worth $3K so, and the front end needs its bumper replaced. And he has liability only insurance coverage.
Not really sure what he should do next. To make matters worse, his parents bought him a AAA membership, so he would have gotten free towing had he thought of it. They said there is an online form for reimbursement, but there is no guarantees on an amount, and he doesn't have $600 to pony up. (And his parents won't give it to him, which is a different story all together)
FL has a consumer protection agency, so I told him to start there on Monday. Any other advice? Any case to call the local police and file a police report? He's obviously getting taken advantage of because he's a young kid that didn't think to ask the right questions when he was frazzled from the accident. Any feedback is appreciated!
the tow truck charges are "posted rates" on file with the respective authorities.
When a first responder calls for a tow from an accident scene, it's usually from their "approved provider" list and has a priority to remove the vehicle and "clean up" an accident location.
Unless the vehicle owner is there to decline the 1st responder call-in for service, call in their own preferred tow service, and physically prevent any other tow service from "hooking up" to a vehicle, you … the owner … are screwed with the posted rates/emergency response tow service providers. In some cases, it may be very difficult to decline or prevent the called-in tow service since the legal priority of the 1st responders is to get the accident scene cleared up ASAP.
The situation is aggravated when it presents like this thread … where the car was likely driveable to at least move it to a safe location off the street where it could reasonably be out of traffic and await a tow from the AAA provider service of the owner's choice.
At this point, with the hook-up/tow/impound yard services and storage provided by the tow service, the car owner is screwed. The charges are "by the book" and rates approved by the local authorities. The tow truck company knows this and knows their rights to a lien sale on the vehicle for the charges.
I've seen this situation repeated many times over the last 60 years. Along with many vehicles that incurred charges that were most of the value, if not more, of the vehicle so the owner couldn't justify paying the "ransom" to get their vehicle back. But that's the way the system works and complaining to the PD or other agencies will only get you an education into why the tow truck company is entitled to their fees. The two truck company is acting within their legal rights and they've got possession of the car per the 1st responder request. Asking for sympathy and a reduction in fees is usually not going to get a favorable response. The tow truck company knows what the vehicle will likely sell for at auction and is free to do so if the owner doesn't pay their price.
To the best of my experience, AAA only reimburses for the tows that they authorize and perform through their member shops. It may be a futile battle to try to get AAA to reimburse a non-AAA tow service and impound yard.
Tow companies can be very shady. Taking a car without consent after a traumatic event, should be illegal when the victim is conscious and there's no serious injuries. Maybe he could take them to small claims court and let the judge decide.
None of us were present at the time of the accident so it is impossible to "pass judgement" or offer advice without more information.
Could it possibly be the vehicle was inoperable and/or a traffic hazard?
I have never heard of a Towing Company taking possession of a vehicle without either the vehicle's owner or the Police and/or Fire Department authorizing.
Unfortunately, Vehicle Towing and Storage has always been expensive and probably always will be.
I don't know all the FL laws or the circumstances, but my first thought was to send them a letter saying you're going to file a small claims lawsuit if they don't release the vehicle immediately, and I'd offer them a fair rate and a deadline of just a couple days. I'd send it with delivery confirmation, which can be done through the USPS.
Then, if no luck, I'd file a small claims court action and they'd probably settle. If not, let the judge decide what's fair. If you win, normally, the judge also says the loser has to pay your court costs, which is usually only around $50.
I use small claims court this way with good success - to get unscrupulous businesses to settle fairly with me. I recently did it with AARP/The Hartford on my renter's insurance claim where they were trying to rip me off. Two days before our court appearance date, they gave me a fair settlement.
It's worth doing if your claim is within the maximum amount, even if it's a huge business. Even big businesses don't want to pay legal fees. You normally can't take lawyers to small claims court, so it's a good way to force a business to settle with you fairly.
I'd pay to get the car back in my hands and then take them to small claims court if you want.
This is the best advice, honestly. Sue them for the total amount of the tow and fees and let the judge decide on what a fair amount would be. But, first make some demands in writing before picking up the vehicle, saying you think the amount is unreasonable and you contest the amount they're asking for, and you would only pay it to get the vehicle out of impound, intending to sue for what's fair - so it never appears that you think the amount is fair.
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