Truck held hostage

M

MedicRon

Guest
Jurisdiction
Colorado
October 8th 2016 I was in the process of moving from Dallas to Denver. I was towing a medium sized trailer with my f150 and i broke down outside of Lamar Colorado. I called a tow truck and was towed back to town to a tow yard owned by the owner of the tow truck company. I paid the tow truck driver at the time of service so nothing was owed on that. I spoke to the wife of the owner and she said that there would be no charge and come pick it up when I could. That evening the owner called me and was acting kind of shady. He asked about the truck and what I thought was wrong with it and if I was going to come back for it. I told him I thought the motor was seized but that i definitely was coming back to get it. At this time still no mention of money.
So right at a month I called the guy. I told him I was coming to get the truck and he started throwing g a fit. Said he had just started the process of filing for an abandoned vehicle and he would have to work out what I owe him. I told him that I was told no charge and he agreed, then he said it had been too long and now he had to charge me. I do not have any extra money to give him. Can he hold the truck hostage until I pay him? What legal recourse do I have? Should I contact the local police? Its 300 miles one way so the trip I make down there has to be the only trip. Any advise would be appreciated..
 
I doubt if they expected to be holding the vehicle for almost a month. I can understand them charging you.
 
By not contacting the tow yard every other day, your inaction, failure to stay in touch led the owner to believe you abandoned the truck.

Unless you have a written record of what the owner was supposed to do for you, I suggest you forget the truck, get the cash demanded, or make a counteroffer in writing for CASH sufficient enough to cause the energy not to auction the truck.

A back door option might be available, have a trusted third party offer to buy the truck from the lot, eventually returning ownership back to you.
 
Just noticed this topic and have something to add. I don't know what you signed or you may have been told you should have seen. Many of these tow truck facilities have either written into their short contracts or have signs in the front of their offices about specific charges or what they can charge you. Many get angry and feel it's a scam but you've got virtually no recourse as cited above - you left a trailer there. What were you thinking - that a business has no rent, taxes or expenses to pay?

If you try to take this to the police it will probably go nowhere and you'll likely be told that you have a civil matter. And if you try to take it to court, you'll probably have even more costs to tack on. Even if you claim cost was not specifically discussed the plaintiff tow truck driver will likely respond by stating that context was to arrange to pick up the vehicle within a few days, not an entire month. One would have to guess that they'd likely agree with you on a sum for a rental fee and not go through with the process of attempting to file for abandonment and thinking they will succeed, knowing who the owner is and without contacting you. Just be sensible.
 

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