Personal Property

[Tow411]

This question was asked on Tow411 in March of 2008:

 

what do you do with this situation? your company is called out at 3 am on a police accident the car is off the road in the trees you winch the car out clean up the debris tow the car to your stoage yard . the owner comes in the to pick up personel property and says there are items missing from the car .they go back to the accident site and can not locate missing items. so naturally its your fault and they file a complaint with the police dept. how does your operation handle this type of complaint?

 

Twinbulls said:

PD call ?? if so they (PD) should have a inventory sheet that the officer wrote up... If not .. Tough luck.....
I had people claim all sort of things....Missing laptops,missing money, missing guns....
One lap top was in a black bag so the guy said well the PD only wrote up black bag 2 hours after he picked up the car he called back saying his laptop was stolen !!! never whent anywhere .. but still a pain !!!

 

Tow4fun said:

Good question.
I do get that alot..."Did you find my cell phone"
...if I found it its in the car, if its not there, I didn't find it.
Maybe you could go back to the scene and look for it in the creek you landed upside down in.

 

TowgirlFL said:

We get it all the time, not on the inventory sheet too bad.....IF it is on the inventory sheet we tell them to file a report with the PD. Never goes anywhere though.

 

capptow said:

I tell people to look harder cause i sure as hell didnt dig thru the glass and blood to steal your stuff. Most of the time when i get those claims the car was "stolen". i tell them who ever stole your car must have stole your stuff.

ryan

 

Kyresqtow said:

Here we only have one PD that inventories cars.... otherwise it is a so sad kind of deal.... I like the ones that come in saying they know something is missing before they even look at the car.... I keep them from going to the car until PD arrives... or the ones that claim damage the same way..... just burns me up

 

BlackAutoLoad said:

A very direct way to deal with that sort of situation is to simply say, "look at the invoice amount. Do you really think i would jepordize this kind of money for your busted ass laptop (whatever item may be)?

 

"It is a very direct approach to people who you KNOW are "scammers". This takes some tact, so i wouldn't recommend it to everyone...

If the person is persistent tell them to show you proof of ownership of whatever is missing, and that a background check will need to be performed to see if they have a trustworthy past. Once the bachground check is performed, then you can chose to replace the "missing" item if you want.

Most people do not want this process to go forward.... after all, they were usually an impound customer to start with...

If I was getting hit with a bunch of "missing item claims", then I would start taking digital photos of every car I hooked up. A local law enforcement officer got into trouble finally when there seemed to be a lot of missing items when he was the officer requesting the tow. Of course the blame went to the "tower" until someone finally stepped up to the plate and found out the officer was doing a little too good of "inventory" on each vehicle that was towed. My guys had to take a lie detector test and everything... was worth it in the end.
people, got to love um.

 

Anaron said:

Customer claims something is missing, I do not release anything until the Sheriff Department sends out an investigator to take a complaint. Had one a few months back on a DUI. Real pain during the arrest, threatening law suits, sexual harrassment etc. The inventory was very detailed with every t crossed and every i dotted. She called the next day asking if I had her car and stated that her $15,000 diamond ring better be in there. I told her that everything that was in the car when she was arrested is still there knowing that there was no $15,000 diamond ring in the car. She arrived, I escorted her to the car and unlocked it. She opened the ash tray and said "somebody stole my ring". I asked her to back out of the car and locked the doors. She wanted to know what I was doing as she had to go. In front of her, I called the arresting officer and the Sheriff explaining the situation. They arrived in short order. I explained the situation and the Sheriff explained that there was no ring in the car at the time of her arrest but they would conduct an investigation. He filled out a complaint form which she signed and explained to her that the vehicle and contents would have to remain until the Investigator could print and search the vehicle. She goes back to the front of my office where her husband was waiting in his vehicle. The Sheriff explained the situation to him to which he replied "typical drunk bitch - she ain't never owned a $500 ring in her life much less a $15,000 ring." The Sheriff got real hot at that point. Bet she never tries to pull that one again!

 

wreckerman05 said:

in our area-the only inventory of a vehicle we ever see ,and we dont get a copy--sometimes and not always--local police dept does a slight look,sometimes listing previous damages to vehicle--the shp could care less,and a vehicle that maybe rolled and contents scattered(how are we to know,that someone else hasnt picked up something before we get there)-- iam the first to tell you i look as good as i can and pick-up all i see, and yes we to have been asked where a certain item is or have we seen it-- i do my best,try to obtain anything thats been thrown out,but icant do miracles---but then theresthe vehicle owner-who maybe trueful and has something missing(not our fault) or one that looking for something that wasnt there start with..always blame the tow-truck driver or owner---hes got plenty of money, ill sue him----yea right--

 

DMHANDSONWRECKER said:

we had a lady claim we stole her husbands used work boots!!!!!!!ohp had to come out and do an invesigation,she filed a complaint againts us,car was rolled in a creek all glass gone, come to find out husband had the boots at home,guess what no sorry, from woman or husband,she said well if they were there we would have stole them!!!!!!!!,guess what the whole kicker was no insurance and abandoned the car on us.i love people.

 

marescon motors said:

I take pictures of every thing at different angles to show damage and what may be inside.

Dennis

 

TBar1117 said:

I laugh every time someone complains about something missing. We towed a drunk in not long ago and the owner comes in yelling at the boss that we were a bunch of thieves. We called the p.d. to come file a complaint because he would not tell us what we stole. The police officer came in laughing his a.. off and advised us that the owner claims we stole his dentures out of the ash tray. Too funny.

 

onetentowing saidd:

I Tow a Subaru worth nothing from a Arrest,Typical nobody claims it, 7 months later,after car is junked,owner shows up,After explaining the Law to him, He says whats the tow bill, I tell him 5500.00,I figure that will be that,Well he says if I can still access the car,and his 24K ROLEX is still under the seat,he will pay the tow bill,I say the car is in China by now,but I will call the Yard That I send them too. My guy says Its possible that he still has the car,come take a look, Car Owner offers me 2500.00 cash on the spot,and if Watch is there,the other half. We jump in the car and of to the Junk yard, Car is on top of a pile,Customer climbs up,lifts up spare tire,cover and tire,pulls out a paper bag,and starts laughing. Jumps down and On the way back,he says he don't want the car,and hands me another 500 cash,3 GRAND TOTAL........Thats fine with me,I say,and off they go VERY HAPPY..........................................There was $150.000.00 + Cash in the bag, ...............................Mike

 

certifiedautomallnj said:

One ten dont you wish you searched that car before you scrapped it?? lol i take it there was never a watch lol

 

onetentowing said:

And another funny thing,about that yard is,Ever since I got my license and went to that junkyard for parts,the Old man who owned the place,use to have this rule that when new wrecks were brought in,they would go to an area in the front where NO ONE,was allowed to go near them,until after he Personnaly went thru them and collected the loose change from under the seats!! Then the car would be brought into the yard and customers could remove parts. Well He passed on a couple of years ago,and now his sons run the place ,and they don't bother with that ...... Mike

 

Ostrom said:

Before I junk a car I do look through the car to see if there is anything of value in it because the way i understand the law in Wisconsin after the paperwork is done and the time is waited the car becomes mine to do with as i want.
Ostrom's
Minong Wi
715-466-2377

 

Preferred said:

If it's not listed on the 180 form, tough luck.... All my trucks also have cameras, so, if the customer wants to push the issue I can show the entire clean-up and towing. Filing a complaint with the police department usually does not go very far!

 

Jarold Howland said:

So you sold the car or give it to a salvageyard,technically would that money not belong to the new owner?Months later,where was the original owner. In jail maybe?

 

onetentowing said:

Thats Right,If its not in the officers inventory,on the tow sheet,it was not there as far as I am concerned....................Mike

 

Marlena said:

Some people want something for nothing and unfortunially some towing companies are known for taking things out of vehicles in their lot. When the driver brings the vehicle into the lot they need to do an inventory of the vehicle. Write it down on the vehicle information card. Around here the police don't always write inventory information on their report so if your driver does it then that helps cover the company. Even that won't stop some people from trying to get something for nothing!