A DRIVER is getting a $7,500 payday after his car was towed and auctioned off, despite being parked legally.
The US government took aim at a towing company after realizing the man was unfairly targeted.
3
3
3
Lieutenant Jonathan Liongson, serving aboard the USS Bunker Hill in 2022, left his 2011 Mazda 6 on the street in front of a friend’s home in Chula Vista in San Diego, California.
During his deployment, Liongson had his friend start the car occasionally.
But when his friend went to check on it one day, the car was gone.
“When he went outside, he said, ‘I can’t find your car. I’ve walked around the block twice and I can’t find your car,” Liongson told CBS local affiliate KFMB at the time.
At first, he thought it had been stolen, but didn’t have time to deal with it while serving.
“It sucked when I heard my car was potentially missing, but that couldn’t get in the way of what I needed to focus on during that deployment,” he said.
Four months later, when he returned to San Diego, he contacted police and learned it had been towed.
The vehicle was impounded at Tony’s Auto Center in Chula Vita due to expired registration, officers told him.
Liongson rushed to the lot, only to find his car was long gone.
“I asked them could you run this plate through the system please and they told me that unfortunately that vehicle has been auctioned off,” he said.
Tony’s Auto had sold the car for $1,200 after keeping it for two months.
Plus, the company said it had racked up about $6,000 in fees during that time.
After rushing to the media for help, the US government started investigating what happened to Liongson’s car.
Federal law bars companies from auctioning off property belonging to service members without a court order.
In a complaint filed last week, the US Attorney General accused the business of violating the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
What to do if your car is towed
Wrongfully or not, retrieving a towed vehicle can be a hassle.
If your vehicle is towed after parking in a “No Parking” zone or other legitimate reason, there are a few steps to take to get it back.
Steps to take when your car is towed:
- Try to figure out why your car was towed. Did you not see a posted “No Parking” sign? Did you miss a car payment? Did you return to a lot where you have unpaid citations? Finding the reason can narrow down the phone numbers to dial.
- Locate the vehicle. Most states, cities, or counties require towing companies to leave some form of contact information via a posted sign or sent by mail.
- Recovery dates and times depend on the company that towed the vehicle, but those times will be posted to the website or can be recited by a representative.
- Pay the fees. Be careful to be as prompt as possible, as some tow yards may charge storage fees by the day.
If you feel your vehicle was wrongfully towed, contesting the action can be done with the following steps:
- Be prompt – many states have a small window of time where it’s acceptable to file a complaint against a company that wrongfully towed the vehicle.
- Gather supporting documents: photos, emails, receipts, police reports, and witness statements if applicable. The more evidence, the better.
- Get familiar with your local laws, as laws for towing companies vary per state.
- Try speaking with the towing company. Sometimes it may have been a simple oversight, and the matter can be resolved quickly.
- Contact the Justice of the Peace in your area, as they may have more insight or resources to help. They are often utilized for towing cases.
- Talk to a lawyer. Many lawyers have free case consultations, and depending on the case, it may be worth it to utilize a lawyer.
Source: Oregon Department of Justice, National General, Rak Law Firm
The suit says Tony’s Auto never checked the Department of Defense’s database to see if Liongson was protected under the SCRA.
The law shields active duty members from certain financial and legal actions while deployed, including repossessions and foreclosures.
No court order was filed in this case, and no verification was done through the DOD’s system.
The lieutenant still owed about $2,500 on the Mazda to Navy Federal Credit Union.
Now, he’s hoping to recover the lost money through the ongoing case.
Before getting the law on his side, Liongson issued a warning to other servicemembers to be careful about their property before leaving the country.
“If you want to prevent that from happening, make sure you put your car in a very safe place,” he said.