Legal recourse (apartment complex, attorneys, law)

[Frida7]

My son was visiting my daughter, the apt. complex had his car towed after a half hour. There is a visitor's pass he kept on the dash. When he called the towing company to tell them he should not have been towed as he had the pass, he was told to come pick up the car no charge. I don't think I have to tell you what happened when he got there. They'd taken it out and claimed it wasn't there. He paid, angry of course, then went over to the car to leave and saw the pass on the ground near the car.
What can he do? Should he take them to small claims court, or sue the complex? Will it be his word against theirs?

This seems to happen a lot here, and I've heard of it happening in other complexes, been hearing of it for years.

[Obrero]

Originally Posted by Frida7

My son was visiting my daughter, the apt. complex had his car towed after a half hour. There is a visitor's pass he kept on the dash. When he called the towing company to tell them he should not have been towed as he had the pass, he was told to come pick up the car no charge. I don't think I have to tell you what happened when he got there. They'd taken it out and claimed it wasn't there. He paid, angry of course, then went over to the car to leave and saw the pass on the ground near the car.
What can he do? Should he take them to small claims court, or sue the complex? Will it be his word against theirs?

This seems to happen a lot here, and I've heard of it happening in other complexes, been hearing of it for years.

This happened to me once in NJ. They claimed I didn't have my resident pass displayed...which I did. When I went to pick up the car the pass was thrown on the floor in the back. Nothing I could do about it but simmer slowly and curse myself for not locking the doors. Lesson learned.

[Frida7]

Think though, what happens to someone who doesn't have the money to pay. There is a fee for every day it's there. This is how a person could lose their car, possibly lose their job, and on and on like a domino effect. The more vulnerable the person is, the worse the outcome. This is no less than auto theft, yet all it seems you can do is take them to small claims court, assuming you can find a way there if you had no money and lost your car.
My son's doors were locked, I don't know what they did to get into it, but I imagine a thief has his ways.

[bbronston]

I don't have anything helpful to add but i thought this was an interesting subject so I found this:
Russo Law Firm Weblog: Has Your Car Been Improperly Towed: Know Your Rights

It might be of some help or, at least, a starting point.

[Picshooter]

I would go down and file a Police / Sheriff report and ask if there have been other cases.

[Frida7]

I guess we'll have to call the lawyer. The sheriff said it's a civil matter, so they won't get involved.

[Picshooter]

Back to your original post,How did he find out it was towed, and by whom? In hindsight, the car could have been reported as stolen. Did he pick up the pass from the ground?
Looks like small claims court. I would do it on general principle.

[blueherons]

Originally Posted by Frida7

My son was visiting my daughter, the apt. complex had his car towed after a half hour. There is a visitor's pass he kept on the dash. When he called the towing company to tell them he should not have been towed as he had the pass, he was told to come pick up the car no charge. I don't think I have to tell you what happened when he got there. They'd taken it out and claimed it wasn't there. He paid, angry of course, then went over to the car to leave and saw the pass on the ground near the car.
What can he do? Should he take them to small claims court, or sue the complex? Will it be his word against theirs?

This seems to happen a lot here, and I've heard of it happening in other complexes, been hearing of it for years.

I would holdl the apartment complex partly responsible.

If anything they need to reign back the towing company. Have them pay for the towing and hound the hell out of them until.

[Frida7]

He wasn't the only one, when he came out, a lot of people had been victimized. The office was asked, and said they'd called. He will persue this, that's for sure. One of the others this happened to was a single mom who said she had no money to get her car back, and didn't have anyone to help her. She may well lose her job over it. Another was a young man for whom this was his first car, he cried. I hope they all sue.

[MauiTiki]

Originally Posted by Frida7

He wasn't the only one, when he came out, a lot of people had been victimized. The office was asked, and said they'd called. He will persue this, that's for sure. One of the others this happened to was a single mom who said she had no money to get her car back, and didn't have anyone to help her. She may well lose her job over it. Another was a young man for whom this was his first car, he cried. I hope they all sue.

I would also call local news channels (example My Suncoast ) and tell them your story. The more people the better.