Car Was Towed From My Own Parking Spot In My Condo. Towing Company Damaged My Car As Well, But Offered Refund For Tow Eventually. Need Advice/guidance

Location: Washington County, Oregon.

Full Story.

About 2 months ago my car was towed from my condo’s assigned parking space, a condo which I own (not rent)

The condo has rules that allows this towing company to patrol and tow cars that are parked that break the rules, but my car was in my own parking spot with the permit on the front dashboard. At first they claimed the reason was a no parking zone, then they claimed no pass, all of which is false. I have proof the pass was on the front dashboard by taking pictures at the lot when I was picking it up.

I called the police initially because I thought it got stolen, then they told me that it was actually towed. They towed it on a Friday night so they could charge Saturday and Sunday too, even though they’re closed those days. Very predatory company. I called the non-emergency number for the police for help/insight and they, as well as some other people I asked, said I didn’t have much choice other than to pick up my car.

The guy at the towing company I called was angry and yelling for no reason. He also kept mixing up things he said and forging details of conversation in his mind. However I was calm throughout the process and went to pick up my car on that Monday. At the towing lot, I inspected the car for damages and I noticed there was significant damage on the back right bumper, as well as smaller damage here and there.

Afterward I contacted the management of the condo and they weren’t very helpful. They barely communicated over the last 2 months despite me giving them full details and trying to be accomodating and understanding, because it wasn’t really their fault this towing company went rogue. I’m not sure if they were slow because of themselves or because the towing company was unhelpful.

Eventually they offered to have the cost of the tow refunded with a check. The problem is that I also had take time off my day on that Monday, they ripped up my car cover and left it at the parking spot, and I believe they damaged my car while towing, so just refunding for the amount of the tow won’t cover it.

I’ve asked them multiple times to provide the photos of the car taken before the tow in digital format. The law states that they must keep pictures on record for 2 years and provide them upon request. They initially told me to email them, then when I emailed them they said to come to the place physically, but I don’t want physical photos which can be doctored with no proof. I want digital ones so I can use tools to see if the date was edited or if they used any tools to edit it. My car is in an open spot, so they could always just swing by to take picture of the car after the tow when it’s damaged and claim it was from before the tow.

In this county’s laws it also states they they have to provide transpotation to/from the towing location, but when I asked about this, the guy on the phone laughed.

In general this company is very scummy. While I was waiting at the tow, another guy called in and was yelling at the secretary because they mistakenly towed his car too. They admitted to it for him, but they forced me to pay.

Questions.

Now I don’t know the best path forward and there aren’t a lot of resources to help guide me on this.

I want to take them to small claims court, but I want to offer them around $3000 if they want to skip the process. I know that’s more than I’d get from small claims court, but it would also save them from having their mistake made public.

I’m thinking about writing one final email to both the towing company and condo management that they can either prove that they didn’t do the damage and I’ll accept the refund for the tow, or they can pay me $3000 (negotiable), or we can take it to small claims court.

Do I need to go through insurance for the damage? I wanted pictures to verify that it was them that did it first.

I think because they offered a refund, they have already admitted guilt in mistakenly towing the car. The question is if they will be held accountable for damage to the car or not.

I’m also considering sending a letter to every other resident in this community to let them know what happened to put pressure on the management and towing company as well. I think everyone has a right to know their cars can be towed at any time by this rogue towing company and that the management won’t be very helpful.

Any advice in general would be very helpful.

Thank you.