Getting your car towed can be a difficult ordeal and it can be even worse when you don’t know which company took your car. Whether it’s towing for a violation or you were in an accident, having your car towed and away from you can be a frightening experience. Having your car towed can also be a blow to the wallet, with most companies charging hundreds of dollars to tow a car. According to a study conducted by AAA, the cost to have a car towed varies greatly depending on the distance and the type of vehicle, with a range of $75 to $125 for local towing to up to $2,000 for a long-distance tow.
Identifying the towing company who took your car is paramount for anyone who wants to reclaim their vehicle. The process of identification can, however, be quite complex as there are many different laws, regulations and processes involved. Therefore, there are a few key steps to take when determining which towing company towed your car away.
The first step is to investigate whether your car was towed from a public or a private property. If the car was towed from public property and the reason for the tow was for a parking violation, then the tow truck driver should have put a yellow-tag (tow ticket) on the vehicle’s front windshield. The ticket should have the contact information of the towing company, as well as a phone number where you can call and ask questions. If you have the tow ticket but do not know the company it belongs to, you can call the local police station and ask the dispatch officer.
If the car was towed from a private property, the tow truck driver should have put a red-tag on the windshield. In this situation, the sticker would have the contact information of the company that responded to the request to tow the car from the private property. If you don’t have the tag or cannot find it, you can search online for the towing company that would serve the area where the car was towed from.
In addition, if the car was towed after an accident, you can call your insurance provider and ask what towing company they called for your vehicle. The insurance company should provide you with the name and phone number of the towing company. After discovering the company name, you will be able to call them to find out more information, such as how and where the car was towed from.
The process of discovering which towing company took your car is quite complex and it is also time consuming. However, if you have a tow ticket or if you call your insurance provider, you should have the information you need in order to reclaim your car. The most important thing to remember is that you should contact the towing company as soon as possible in order to avoid any extra fees or storage costs.
Finding Contact Information
In case contact information is not available on the tow ticket, or otherwise not available, then it is also possible to find out the company’s contact details in other ways. If it is a public tow, then calling the local police station is one option, as the officers may be able to provide the contact information. In addition, other legal authorities such as Motor Vehicle Departments (DMV) and parking enforcement authorities may also be able to advise on the contact information for the towing company in question.
If the tow was from a private property, it will be slightly more complex. It is possible to call the landowner or the property owner to get more information, as they may have contact information. Alternatively, researching local towing services may also be an option – searching online and calling multiple services may result in finding out which company attended the location and towed the car.
Commissioned Tow
Another possibility is that the car was ‘commissioned’ by the police or other legal authority such as a state agency. This is sometimes done when the car is in violation of state laws or is parked in a dangerous location. In such a situation, the towing company will have been ‘commissioned’ to the job and will have a contract with the legal authority in question. In this scenario, then, finding out which towing company was commissioned for the job is relatively simple – simply contact the relevant legal authority and ask for the information.
At the same time, it is important to remember that there is usually an area restriction in place for commissioned towing – usually only covering the area in which the car was towed from. Therefore, depending on how far the car was towed, it may end up being an out of area job and sourced from an independent towing service, rather than the one commissioned for the job.
Research Towing Services
Another way to find out who towed your car is to research local towing services in the area where the car was parked. Many of these services will have their own social media accounts, websites and contact details, making it easy to find them when you need to. It is also possible to find reviews from previous customers on websites such as Google, Yelp and other similar review sites. Reading these reviews can provide insight into how professional and reliable each towing service is, as well as other key factors for choosing one such as competitive pricing and customer service ratings.
With a bit of research, it can be possible to work out which towing service took your car. Doing enough research and asking plenty of questions, it’s possible to make an informed decision on which service to use – and even potentially solve the mystery of who has towed your car away.
Check Local Laws
As with anything involving towing, it is important to be aware of the local laws and regulations. These laws may include a variety of provisions around towing, such as how long a vehicle can be left parked before it is towed and the maximum tow fee that can be charged for a particular tow job. Knowing these details can be an important part of navigating the process of finding the towing company that took your car.
Additionally, local laws may require towing companies to provide a certain level of insurance. This is because when cars are towed, there is always a risk of damage to the vehicle. Therefore, insurance is usually required in order to protect the customer from being liable for any damage that might occur. This can provide some peace of mind when deciding which towing company to use and can ensure that if any damage does occur, it will be covered.
Choose Reliable Company
Finding out which towing company has taken your car can be tricky, but there are many ways to determine this information. Doing research on local towing services, reading reviews and assessing their level of insurance cover are all key parts of finding out this information. Ultimately, it is important to ensure that the towing company chosen is reliable and has a solid reputation in the local area. Having this assurance can help ensure that the car is quickly and safely returned to its rightful owner.