While private property owners can have an illegally parked car towed right away, it’s important to give the tow truck driver a proper and written authorization. It’s a requirement under California towing laws as a way to preclude predatory towing. Moreover, the tow company must immediately notify the local police department that a particular vehicle is currently being towed and delivered to a storage facility.

What Exactly is Predatory Towing?

Generally, towing service providers in San Jose and other California cities and towns, follow the state’s towing laws to the letter. However, some tow truck operators resort to using unethical approaches in growing their business by encouraging their tow truck crews to engage in predatory towing.

There are some that maximize their operations by actually training members of tow crews to deliberately make claims of illegal parking based on contestable grounds. Not a few of these unscrupulous entities use “spotters,” who will immediately notify them of a car that has been immobilized for some reason or another.

The tow crew, nearest the vicinity reported by the spotter, will immediately arrive at the site to offer its towing services by misrepresenting themselves; usually as the accredited towing company of the car owner’s insurance provider. That way, the vehicle owner, convinced by the false representation, will immediately agree to have the immobile car hooked up and be towed to a storage facility.

In San Jose, motorists maintain an app of a towing company san jose car owners recommend as trustworthy. Nowadays, towing companies provide a mobile app to ensure their customers will be provided with appropriate and genuine roadside emergency assistance in real time.

What Should a Written Towing Authorization Contain as Information

To help a car owner determine the validity of the Authorization Letter issued by the private property owner, several salient information must be stated in addition to the name of the authorized towing company.

The authorization letter must state the time when the vehicle was seen to have parked without permission; or observed to have ignored conspicuously displayed “no-parking” signs at the entrance and vicinity of the private property.

It’s also important to indicate the time when the authorization to tow was issued to the designated towing company.

Moreover, the letter of authorization must clearly state the reason why a towing action is being taken by the property owner. In which case, the letter must also state the license plate, vehicle identification number, model and make of the car being towed for impounding.

The private property owner or the official representative of the property owner, who will sign the letter of authorization should state his name, title or designated position, address and contact number where he or she can be reached easily.

If a towing company insisted on impounding the vehicle without presenting a valid written authorization from the property owner, the towing action is contestable. If so, the towing company is deemed liable to pay back the towing and storage fees at four times the amount paid by the car owner.