What clients say about Vasquez Towing in San Pablo (CA)
My experience with Vasquez Towing Company in California brought to light some important considerations regarding the towing industry here. While it's essential to understand the regulations, it's equally crucial to approach this with a sense of fairness and politeness:
Clear Signage: Towing from private property in California is allowed if signs are present. However, these signs need to be at least 17 inches by 22 inches with clear warnings about towing. Sometimes these signs are not as visible as they should be, which can lead to confusion.
Half-Price Release: If you arrive before your vehicle is removed from the property, California law states that you should only pay half the towing fee for the release of your car from Vasquez Towing Company. This provision aims to offer some relief when circumstances allow.
Towing Fees: Currently, there's no statewide cap on towing fees, meaning they can vary widely at companies like Vasquez Towing Company. It's advisable to know these fees in advance, which might be established by local law enforcement or agreements with property owners.
Police Notification: Vasquez Towing Company, like all tow companies, must inform local law enforcement within 30 minutes of towing a vehicle or 15 minutes after arriving at the storage facility. This step is to ensure vehicles aren't stolen but might not directly help the car owner in distress.
Geographic Restrictions: Your vehicle can't be towed more than 10 miles from where it was parked by Vasquez Towing Company, except with written authorization from law enforcement. This rule tries to keep retrieval within a reasonable distance. Storage Fees: If you retrieve your vehicle from Vasquez Towing Company within the first 24 hours, you should only be charged for one day of storage. However, operational hours of impound lots can complicate this.
Consumer Rights: If you believe your vehicle was towed improperly by Vasquez Towing Company, California law provides avenues for recourse, though navigating these can be complex.
The police in California have their own policies regarding towing, often aligning with state laws but also having discretion in certain situations like abandoned vehicles, expired registration, or traffic obstruction.
This collaboration can sometimes feel less about public service and more about revenue generation.
While Vasquez Towing Company serves a necessary function in managing parking and traffic, the system could benefit from clearer regulations, better consumer education, and perhaps a more humane approach to what is often a stressful situation for car owners. My review is not just a critique but a call for an informed discourse on how we can improve this practice to be more equitable and transparent.
Predatory. Vasquez illegally towed my car from a shared business park private lot that had zero tow notices. Property management at the location confirmed in writing that Reyes acted slowly in their own interest and in conflict with the lease.
Company are dishonest thieves, picked up my car from low income housing without written authorization from property owner. Then attempted to illegally hold my vehicle from Saturday afternoon until Monday morning despite me calling them 10 mins after it was picked up.
It's ok, family friend is an attorney and helped us put together a $10,000 small claims case for illegal practices.
That'll make them think twice about breaking the law....
Update: reported to San Pablo police department for a whole slew of violations. The Sargent informed us Vasquez Towing have a number of other incidents in the works from similar violations dating back months.
If they have towed your vehicle illegally ensure they provide an itemized bill, a copy of the written authorization (shows who called, when, what the violation was, what time the vehicle was picked up) if they don’t provide these PRIOR to you paying for the release that is a violation for California Vehicle Code 22658 and you can successfully sue them! Towing industry has very strict and specific rules to stop predatory tow companies (like Vasquez Towing) from taking your vehicle and holding it hostage. I hope this helps anyone also victimised by these scumbags :)
Illegally towed my car and lied about it when I called the police. They hung up the phone on me and when they did speak, unprofessional. Beware they to make a dollar. It's a shame
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