Bob's Towing Company Towed me from my own aparment complex, two times. After knowing that I lived there the first time I payed the fee. RIPOFF Denton Texas

Texas has some crazy laws but the Law that allow a non consent tow of a car from a private apartment complex are quite definite. I understand this comment of mine is 2 years old now but the public has a right to know when a ripoff happens.

First , look at your lease and see what it says about towing, if it doesn't mention that you must have an apt sticker on your car then the tow is illegal . Texas has a probable hearing court to keep control of tow truck drivers. It costs $20.00 to file a complaint against an illegal tow .

A Justice of the Peace court thats set up to nothing more then make sure the tow operator doesn't rip you off with the cost of towing and the 2nd is to formally listen to your complaint that the tow was illegal and for what reasons was it illegal .

The Judge will hear your side and the tow drivers side and look at photos if any , witnesses etc then make a fair decision if the tow company had a probable cause to tow you or had no probable cause to tow you.

You can bring a lawyer but thats expensive and if you represent yourself impress the Judge with the knowledge you have . Do some homework .Find out all you can about the law. Read Texas Statutes and Codes , its on the net , look up Statute 684 and 2303 or 4 u win if the Judge says no probably cause . The Judge will then make a court order ordering the tow company to return your car immediatly to you , Tow Driver must reimburse court costs to you and tow driver must reimbursment cost of towing ,storage or what ever the bill was.

Now the fun part , You can have the police arrest the Tow driver for theft ,if the apts
had an agreement or not , the responsibility of safe keeping your property is theirs so sue them for breach of contract , sue the tow operator for lost of due process, lost time from work etc .. you have $10,000 limit in Justice of Peace court.

But the real fun is in court .. You get to act like the prosecutor so when you call the tow driver ask to see his driver license and insurance papers and permit to tow . Do your Homework and check out the information with Texas department of Licenses etc and Texas Dept of Transportation . Both have Statutes over Tow drivers . One wrong answer by the Tow driver or no license or insurance and Game is over .

Last word , This is all my opinion on what someone should do if car is towed illegally but facts are facts and Texas Dept of Transportation statute 684 and 2303 or 4 and reading the rules of Dept of Licenses and permits will answer all questions.

Good Luck to anyone reading this

It may be with the property OWNER. Trespass towing is very strictly regulated by contractin most places, even the rates are set by the city. I doubt a tow-company owner would risk losing a $60,000 dollar truck and going to jail if he was caught stealing cars. In my area, the parking lot must be posted with signs telling you exactly where your car will be, the phone number, and when you can pick up the car. If there was no signage how did you know where to pick up the car? How could the tower enter the complex without a pass? I think maybe your apartment manager is not telling you the truth because he doesn't want you arguing with him.

If the apt mgmt has no agreement with him, then isn't he trespassing by coming onto the property and towing you? I don't understand this at all. I hope you don't continue to pay. I think the guy owes you full refunds for both tows. The second time I would have called the police WITH MGMT present, explaining the guy has no contract and illegally towed your car. Most areas have a consumer advocate or "troubleshooter" working for the local television stations. You might try contacting them. Were it me, I'd seek reimbursement in small claims court if all else failed. I'm no lawyer and only a lawyer can give legal advice, but I am betting the testimony from the apt mgmt stating they have no contact with the guy would be crucial to your case.

Call the police and report your car stolen. If the towyard indeed has an agreement with your complex, it will come out when the police show up to get your car back from them. But, it sounds rather fishy to me that a tow truck would just go into a complex and tow a car when they have no agreement with the property management to do so...where I live, that is called stealing.....

If your apartment complex has no agreement with the towing company, they have no right to take your car. If the apartment manager will not do anything, report the car stolen to the police and tell them where the car is. That should get it stopped.