02:20
Faizan
Whether you have unlawfully parked your car in a tow-away zone or failed to make timely payments on your car loan, that sinking feeling you get when your car has been towed just gets worse when you realize you left your laptop in the trunk. In California, as in many states, you have certain rights when it comes to regaining possession of personal belongings left in your towed vehicle, even when the tow company acted legally in taking your car.
Required Notices
A California tow company must give you the opportunity to remove personal property from your car before your vehicle is taken, if possible. If not, state law requires the company to provide you with specific notices within 48 hours after removing your vehicle. The Notice of Seizure and the Inventory of Personal Effects can be handed to you personally or mailed. The inventory is a detailed list of all personal effects taken when your vehicle was towed. If the 48-hour period includes a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, the company has extra time to provide these notices, but it must do so no later than 96 hours after towing.
Personal Property
Tow companies must remove all of your personal effects from the vehicle, make a complete inventory, and label and store them for a minimum of 60 days. The Inventory of Personal Effects is an itemized list of all personal property taken with the vehicle and must include information about how to recover it. California law requires the inventory to state that all property listed will be held for 60 days from the date of the notice. After this time, the tow company or repossession agency can discard or otherwise dispose of it. If you redeem your personal effects within the 60-day time period and sign a statement that you have received all your property, the inventory requirement can be waived.
Affixed Items
Tow companies are not required to return property that is installed or affixed to the car, such as speakers, bicycle racks or aftermarket additions. If the item is mounted on the car but can be detached by a release mechanism, it is considered personal property to be returned to you. However, the company is not required to remove items unless it can do so without the use of tools. If the company is not sure whether an item attached to the car is personal property or part of the vehicle, it must list the item on the inventory. But the repossession agency is prohibited by state law from returning to you any deadly weapons, dangerous drugs, combustible items, food and other possible health hazards that were in your vehicle. California makes an exception for personalized license plates. If you have environmental or other special interest plates on your car, the company must list them on the inventory, remove them from the vehicle and return them with other personal effects within the 60-day period. If the plates are not claimed, the company can destroy them and notify the Department of Motor Vehicles or retain the plates indefinitely for you to retrieve.
Creditors' Liens
When you take out a car loan, the vehicle becomes security, so if you fall behind on your payments, the dreaded repo man can take away your car. If you do not reclaim your car, the creditor can satisfy the lien by selling it. California law is clear that no lien can attach to any personal property in or on the vehicle. If you or your agent appear at the premises where the car has been towed during normal business hours, and you demand return of your personal property, the company must return it to you. Normal business hours are defined in the statute as 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, except state holidays. But if you don’t do this before the car is sold at a lien sale, it is doubtful you will ever get your personal property back; the tow company is not responsible for property left in the car after it is legally sold.
Required NoticesA California tow company must give you the opportunity to remove personal property from your car before your vehicle is taken, if possible. If not, state law requires the company to provide you with specific notices within 48 hours after removing your vehicle. The Notice of Seizure and the Inventory of Personal Effects can be handed to you personally or mailed. The inventory is a detailed list of all personal effects taken when your vehicle was towed. If the 48-hour period includes a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, the company has extra time to provide these notices, but it must do so no later than 96 hours after towing.
Personal Property
Tow companies must remove all of your personal effects from the vehicle, make a complete inventory, and label and store them for a minimum of 60 days. The Inventory of Personal Effects is an itemized list of all personal property taken with the vehicle and must include information about how to recover it. California law requires the inventory to state that all property listed will be held for 60 days from the date of the notice. After this time, the tow company or repossession agency can discard or otherwise dispose of it. If you redeem your personal effects within the 60-day time period and sign a statement that you have received all your property, the inventory requirement can be waived.
Affixed Items
Tow companies are not required to return property that is installed or affixed to the car, such as speakers, bicycle racks or aftermarket additions. If the item is mounted on the car but can be detached by a release mechanism, it is considered personal property to be returned to you. However, the company is not required to remove items unless it can do so without the use of tools. If the company is not sure whether an item attached to the car is personal property or part of the vehicle, it must list the item on the inventory. But the repossession agency is prohibited by state law from returning to you any deadly weapons, dangerous drugs, combustible items, food and other possible health hazards that were in your vehicle. California makes an exception for personalized license plates. If you have environmental or other special interest plates on your car, the company must list them on the inventory, remove them from the vehicle and return them with other personal effects within the 60-day period. If the plates are not claimed, the company can destroy them and notify the Department of Motor Vehicles or retain the plates indefinitely for you to retrieve.
Creditors' Liens
When you take out a car loan, the vehicle becomes security, so if you fall behind on your payments, the dreaded repo man can take away your car. If you do not reclaim your car, the creditor can satisfy the lien by selling it. California law is clear that no lien can attach to any personal property in or on the vehicle. If you or your agent appear at the premises where the car has been towed during normal business hours, and you demand return of your personal property, the company must return it to you. Normal business hours are defined in the statute as 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, except state holidays. But if you don’t do this before the car is sold at a lien sale, it is doubtful you will ever get your personal property back; the tow company is not responsible for property left in the car after it is legally sold.
Posted in: Driving Tips
