A WOMAN cautioned drivers about a sneaky auto scam that cost her hundreds of dollars in damages.
When the driver finally got her car back, it was missing three parts.
2
2
On April 30, a suspicious man was caught circling the woman’s car outside her house on Reseda Boulevard in Tarzana at 2 a.m., as reported by a California local news outlet, KTLA.
The victim’s security camera captured the entire ordeal on tape.
The scammer pretended to be a tow truck driver who had come to repossess her vehicle.
In the surveillance footage, the fake tow truck driver was seen hooking the woman’s 2010 Hyundai Elantra to his truck.
Once the truck and her black sedan vanished, the driver called the authorities to notify them of the confusing situation.
Although her vehicle had not been impounded, she still filed a stolen vehicle report.
In a twist of fate, the driver was able to locate her stolen Hyundai, which had been abandoned on the side of the 101 Freeway near Tampa Avenue later that night, according to KTLA.
When she went to take it back from the impound lot, the driver realized her car was missing several parts.
In addition to the whopping $400 storage and towing fees, the driver was also dealing with the stripping of her car.
“I was in tears,” she told KTLA.
“They had stolen the battery, stolen the catalytic converter, the engine manifold. They trashed and dented the car. I couldn’t believe it.”
The California driver has set up a GoFundMe to help raise money to replace the stolen parts and other damage.
“On May 1st, I had to retrieve my vehicle from a towing facility, not knowing I had to pay for towing and storage fees of $400 to retrieve my stolen vehicle,” the GoFundMe reads.
“The same state and city I pay taxes to is charging me, the victim, $400 to pick up my car from the impound. They did not even give me the opportunity to have the car towed away myself.”
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
“I’m sure this has happened to many others. This injustice needs to be corrected.”
The driver wrote that multiple engine parts were missing after the fake towing incident.
Not only that, the inside of her sedan was “trashed” with many of her and her son’s belongings gone.
“I was in the process of gifting the car to my son and sending it to Houston where my son lives,” she wrote on GoFundMe.
“With this now happening, it has placed a significant burden.”
“I recently returned from abroad, burying my father, which I’m still grieving, and now I’m a victim of this horrible crime,” she continued.
She has currently raised $120 with a goal of $6,000.