Skip to main content
Towing

Understanding towing laws in Florida: Five things you should know and do if your car gets towed

By November 25, 2020No Comments

Not many people know that Florida law provides strong protections to consumers who are wrongfully towed. This is because getting towed can be an awful experience.

Imagine you are on your way to pick up your child and stop at a grocery store which has no no-parking signs. When you come back your car is gone! You have nobody to pick up your child and you don’t know how to get your car back. You call the police who finally tells you that your car has been towed by Towing Inc. company. You call Towing Inc., and they are 30 minutes away. You have to pay $30 to Uber to get there. When you get there, Towing Inc. employees are rude and tell you that they only take cash. On top of that, they charge you double what your city ordinance says you should pay for a tow. You have to leave again to find cash at the nearest ATM. When you come back, you are not allowed to inspect any damage to your vehicle. The entire ordeal takes three hours of your life. Your child still waiting for you.

The scenario described is not rare. We see it every day from our traumatized towed clients. Thus, if you ever get towed there are five things you should do:

  1. Go get your car right away. If there is no sign indicating the contact information of the towing company, contact the store clerk of the place where you parked or call 911. Towing companies are required to report tows to the police and therefore they may know who towed your car and where it is. It is important that you go get your car right away to avoid any storage fees. Towing companies have been known for charging excessive storage fees. Avoid these.
  2. Take detailed photo and video. Once at the towing lot, request to inspect your car before paying the towing fee. But even if you are not allowed to see your car before paying, when you finally access it, take a lot of pictures and video of your vehicle contemporaneously, at the site. Keep them in your cell phone so we can later analyze them and see if there was any scratch or damage to the vehicle as a result of the tow. Often times they pressure you to leave and you may not notice damages done to your car.
  3. Make sure you get a towing receipt. The receipt is the single piece of evidence that will help us towing lawyers obtain your money back when you were towed. Often times the receipt contains a series of violations regarding the fees charged or disclosures that will facilitate a determination that the tow was unlawful.
  4. Go back to the location where you were towed from. Go back and take pictures of the location where you were towed, the same day or the day after. Take pictures and measurements of the towing signs or absence of them. There are strict requirements regulating the size, color, placement, and height of towing signs. We’ve seen cases where signs are placed after the fact.
  5. Call us at 1-833-33-AYALA or text us at 305-570-2208. We’ve helped hundreds of consumers redress wrongful tows. Our towing attorneys can obtain your money back and any damage caused as a result of the illegal tow at no charge.

Leave a Reply

× Let's Chat On Whatsapp!