Cedric Chang wrote:
> I had a trailer located in the parking lot of a church.  I had gotten  
> permission to park it there.  Due to some confusion, a new church  
> employee called a towing company.   The towing company owner was on  
> vacation for 3 days and when he came back, he wanted towing charges  
> plus 3 days storage.   Oh yes, by the way, he doubled the towing and  
> storage charges because there was a car loaded on the trailer.

I'm not one for revenge, it never seems to accomplish anything (except causing 
more trouble). Intellectual and moral high road FTW.

Best plan? Talk to a lawyer. Discuss the legality of his actions, possibly 
take it to court. If that's too expensive, small claims court might be an option.

If you're feeling vindictive, pay the fine then sue the jackass that called 
the truck.

Less vindictive? Go after the tow company. Charging double because there's a 
car on the trailer would (in this country) almost certainly be struck down any 
judge with an ounce of sense.

What's even more fun is the Unfair Contract Terms Act. If a court decides that 
a contract term is unfair, that term can be nullified (or the whole contract 
in some cases - IANAL and memory fails me at the moment). Subtle enforcement 
of the concept of a contract being a two-sided agreement, not a method for 
bullying.

Paying the fine on a credit card then charging it back would be another 
option, but I suspect your bank may be less than pleased. The catch is by 
paying it you're sort-of agreeing that the price is fair, but the price only 
goes up with time. Basically the guy has you by the short and curlies...

IMHO the whole car-towing trade should be outright abolished. Yes you can 
clamp the car at the side of the road, and there should be a maximum fine set 
in law, but removing the vehicle should be considered theft (TWOC - Taken 
Without Owner's Consent). In effect, the whole thing is legalised extortion. I 
seem to recall there was something on ITV's "Tonight" show about this exact 
thing... and BBC's "Watchdog" show have certainly covered it on occasion too.

-- 
Phil.                         |  (\_/)  This is Bunny. Copy and paste Bunny
piclist@philpem.me.uk         | (='.'=) into your signature to help him gain
http://www.philpem.me.uk/     | (")_(") world domination.
-- 
http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist