My Pathetic Sob Story, But What Should I Do?
02-05-2009, 10:58 AM
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Okay, I am looking for advice. I'm generally not one to gripe or cause a fuss over crap, but in this instance I am between emotions and I don't want to make the mistake of doing something stupid sheerly out of anger. This can be kind of tough to explain without getting convoluted, but I am going to try to give this my best shot:
[excessively long sob story warning]
So in December we had a few massively cold days, and for this reason my wife was driving the Tib and I had taken her '94 Pontiac Sunbird to work. Even more back story, a bout 3 years ago winter time I was driving home when the clutch on the a/c stuck, causing the a/c to become inoperable and my slacker fix was to remove the belt rather than fix the a/c on such and old car. For the following winters we had no problems. We picked up a can of prestone windshield de-icing spray and an ice-scraper to make due. But the strangest thing happened to occur this year, as I was leaving my neighborhood the clean windshield began to ice back over while I was traveling at roughly 30MPH. (I figure it must have been a vacuum leak and why is below.) I rolled down my window and navigated myself onto the shoulder so I could assess the problem. The short end, I managed to slide down and icy embankment into a tree, where the car was smashed in the passenger side; ALSO ejecting my glasses to an unknown location. I search for about 15 minutes before a cop arrived, who's words were quite simple and sarcastic. Scowling at me and already with his ticket voucher in hand he said, "How did you manage to do this?" My response was nil as I was agitated, he could tell I was searching for something important and never offered to help me nor did he look like cared. He followed suite by asking if I "had" a licenses and insurance card. I explained calmly that yes I do have a license and that I am searching for my glasses so I can see as per the conditions of my license. He began questioning if I was even wearing them and if I was drunk at 6am and which bar I was coming from. Pissed but calm(ish) I told him that I am en-route to work and explained that the windshield froze over. He asked me if I had the sense to use defrost I said yes but (in my infinite wisdom) explained that I used the "heat" setting and not defrost because my car does not have a/c. Long story short, he wrote me a ticket for defective equipment and told me to buy a new car WITH a/c. I was livid, as I often do when confronted, I got in his face and began shouting; I told him that I CAN and WILL buy another car with no a/c because there is no law stating that a/c is require equipment. And just as the cop was calling for backup, slowly pulling is handcuffs out of his back pocket and the tow truck arrived on scene my wife showed up to drag me away and talk me down. Yes stupid on my part, but people like that send me into a blind rage. At this point the cop tells me that he is impounding my car and has the tow truck driver haul it off. Before he drives off of course, the tower asks me for contact info, I give him our address and both mine and my wife's phone numbers. Now my fault, I took the cop a face value. Here's where the plot thickens:
Because this was just days prior to Christmas I was not going to let this dampen the holidays. We go on for a few weeks but about mid January we realize that we've not been contacted by the police impound nor do we have any idea what happened to the car. I start off my quest by calling the numbers on my ticket, none of which get any answer, not even a recording. Then I call the separate sheet I got for the police records office, they have sold me a copy of the record (which is full of embellishment and fallacies but that's standard) with no mention of where my car has gone. Finally I call the police non-emergency line and inquire about impounded vehicles, after searching for 30 mins with 3 different people it is discovered that the car is not in the police impound. I am told co call back to the non-emergency line and find out which wrecker service towed the vehicle. Of course calling back they have no idea, so i ask them which wreckers service(s) they use. I get 2 numbers and finally (with the 2nd number provided) I discover that the car has been sitting on the property of a local tower for now 43 days. They claim i owe them $800 for towing fees, admin fees, and the 43 days on the lot. @_@ "Good times," I say and the receptionist morphs on a split second from customer service mode to mega-b*tch. I politely begin asking questions like "why wasn't I contacted?" "Isn't there something we can do about a few of these charges?" And so on. As uncooperative as possible she stands firm on the charges saying that they sent 2 letters but they got returned and there is nothing that can be done. I tell her that I gave the driver 2 phone numbers, neither of which were called and she just says "sorry" and explains that the charges are what they are. So I ask is there is a manager on duty that I can speak to she then hangs up on me. Okay, now I'm pissed. But being a rational person I just left it for a few days. Yesterday I called back and spoke to another receptionist, I asked her if they still had the car and if anything could be done about the charges and give her a small portion of my sob story. She explains that she has no way to override the charges and apologizes. I ask her if I can speak to the manager and say that perhaps we can work out something. She agrees, but before she can complete the transfer the original receptionist takes over the call and begins yelling at me and saying that the car is not under my name and that I have no right to speak with them on her behalf. I tell this receptionist again (as I did on the 1st call) that the car is under my wife's name, that she has no job and cannot pay them, and I am the sole bread-winner and if they want to get paid at all that they will speak with me. The manager then comes on the phone saying that the receptionists say I have been rude to them and asks me what I want. I tell him that I want my car back. He says that the charges have been upped to $1100+ since last I called and that he needs the money today or else. Now this was uncalled for, so I ask him if he knew what the word "extortion" means. He changes the subject and says that the car is under someone else and he needs to speak with that person first. I call his bluff and tell him firmly that she is my wife and he will not harass her and will speak to me as under the laws of the state of Georgia I have co-ownership of the vehicle, as she mine. He persists and I respond with "do you know what the word 'marriage' means?" and a swift "where were you educated?" Needless to say the discussion dove into juvenile attacks and profanity; things I said in public that I am less than proud of. Finally I calm enough to recommend a barter: I sign over to him the title to the car and he returns the personal effects in the vehicle and negate the charges. He gets a car and I stuff back. Everyone's happy. Well, of course like a true extortionist he says that he will negate the storage fees but we still have to pay $238 for towing and admin fees and turn over the title or we can't even get our effects out of the vehicle. Best I know this itself is against the law as the personal effects are not part of the vehicle's whole, but I could be wrong. Basically the whole thing ended yesterday with me pissed and them hanging up on me again. Nothing solved, we're still going to be out a couple hundred and a vehicle.
The short and dirty:
From above the towing company never contacted us and had all of the information, even a phone number which is registered with the state. Basically They want as much money as they feel they can squeeze out of us. Legally would it be worth while to pursue this under any circumstance? (EG: extortion, wrongful taking, gross incompetence on the part of the tower/police, all of the above.) Should I even bother to contact an attorney, or am I wasting my time? What would you (/y'all tongue.gif) do in my shoes? The wife thinks I should just give in and pay the $230, but to me that's a tall order on top of a clear title for a vehicle. Just looking for more input.
For the towing issue my basic options are:
a.) Hold in there and see if they compromise
b.) Cave, pay the $238 dollars and leave it
c.) Lawyer up and sue the crap out of the schister
d.) Watch some more Law & Order then make a decision
e.) Some from Columns a,b and c.
f.) (insert your idea here) _______________________________________________
g.) Operation Vindication: beat the manager bloody until satiated or he caves, which ever comes last.
What to do about the cop:
a.) Leave it, there is not much constructive that can be done
b.) Bring the sob story to court (and risk get the book thrown at me)
c.) File a complaint with the precinct and which ever correct agencies might care to be interested.
d.) (insert your idea here as long as it wont get me arrested)___________________
(I'm leaning on section "a", as I have tried to deal with pissy cops before and been burnt)
[excessively long sob story warning]
So in December we had a few massively cold days, and for this reason my wife was driving the Tib and I had taken her '94 Pontiac Sunbird to work. Even more back story, a bout 3 years ago winter time I was driving home when the clutch on the a/c stuck, causing the a/c to become inoperable and my slacker fix was to remove the belt rather than fix the a/c on such and old car. For the following winters we had no problems. We picked up a can of prestone windshield de-icing spray and an ice-scraper to make due. But the strangest thing happened to occur this year, as I was leaving my neighborhood the clean windshield began to ice back over while I was traveling at roughly 30MPH. (I figure it must have been a vacuum leak and why is below.) I rolled down my window and navigated myself onto the shoulder so I could assess the problem. The short end, I managed to slide down and icy embankment into a tree, where the car was smashed in the passenger side; ALSO ejecting my glasses to an unknown location. I search for about 15 minutes before a cop arrived, who's words were quite simple and sarcastic. Scowling at me and already with his ticket voucher in hand he said, "How did you manage to do this?" My response was nil as I was agitated, he could tell I was searching for something important and never offered to help me nor did he look like cared. He followed suite by asking if I "had" a licenses and insurance card. I explained calmly that yes I do have a license and that I am searching for my glasses so I can see as per the conditions of my license. He began questioning if I was even wearing them and if I was drunk at 6am and which bar I was coming from. Pissed but calm(ish) I told him that I am en-route to work and explained that the windshield froze over. He asked me if I had the sense to use defrost I said yes but (in my infinite wisdom) explained that I used the "heat" setting and not defrost because my car does not have a/c. Long story short, he wrote me a ticket for defective equipment and told me to buy a new car WITH a/c. I was livid, as I often do when confronted, I got in his face and began shouting; I told him that I CAN and WILL buy another car with no a/c because there is no law stating that a/c is require equipment. And just as the cop was calling for backup, slowly pulling is handcuffs out of his back pocket and the tow truck arrived on scene my wife showed up to drag me away and talk me down. Yes stupid on my part, but people like that send me into a blind rage. At this point the cop tells me that he is impounding my car and has the tow truck driver haul it off. Before he drives off of course, the tower asks me for contact info, I give him our address and both mine and my wife's phone numbers. Now my fault, I took the cop a face value. Here's where the plot thickens:
Because this was just days prior to Christmas I was not going to let this dampen the holidays. We go on for a few weeks but about mid January we realize that we've not been contacted by the police impound nor do we have any idea what happened to the car. I start off my quest by calling the numbers on my ticket, none of which get any answer, not even a recording. Then I call the separate sheet I got for the police records office, they have sold me a copy of the record (which is full of embellishment and fallacies but that's standard) with no mention of where my car has gone. Finally I call the police non-emergency line and inquire about impounded vehicles, after searching for 30 mins with 3 different people it is discovered that the car is not in the police impound. I am told co call back to the non-emergency line and find out which wrecker service towed the vehicle. Of course calling back they have no idea, so i ask them which wreckers service(s) they use. I get 2 numbers and finally (with the 2nd number provided) I discover that the car has been sitting on the property of a local tower for now 43 days. They claim i owe them $800 for towing fees, admin fees, and the 43 days on the lot. @_@ "Good times," I say and the receptionist morphs on a split second from customer service mode to mega-b*tch. I politely begin asking questions like "why wasn't I contacted?" "Isn't there something we can do about a few of these charges?" And so on. As uncooperative as possible she stands firm on the charges saying that they sent 2 letters but they got returned and there is nothing that can be done. I tell her that I gave the driver 2 phone numbers, neither of which were called and she just says "sorry" and explains that the charges are what they are. So I ask is there is a manager on duty that I can speak to she then hangs up on me. Okay, now I'm pissed. But being a rational person I just left it for a few days. Yesterday I called back and spoke to another receptionist, I asked her if they still had the car and if anything could be done about the charges and give her a small portion of my sob story. She explains that she has no way to override the charges and apologizes. I ask her if I can speak to the manager and say that perhaps we can work out something. She agrees, but before she can complete the transfer the original receptionist takes over the call and begins yelling at me and saying that the car is not under my name and that I have no right to speak with them on her behalf. I tell this receptionist again (as I did on the 1st call) that the car is under my wife's name, that she has no job and cannot pay them, and I am the sole bread-winner and if they want to get paid at all that they will speak with me. The manager then comes on the phone saying that the receptionists say I have been rude to them and asks me what I want. I tell him that I want my car back. He says that the charges have been upped to $1100+ since last I called and that he needs the money today or else. Now this was uncalled for, so I ask him if he knew what the word "extortion" means. He changes the subject and says that the car is under someone else and he needs to speak with that person first. I call his bluff and tell him firmly that she is my wife and he will not harass her and will speak to me as under the laws of the state of Georgia I have co-ownership of the vehicle, as she mine. He persists and I respond with "do you know what the word 'marriage' means?" and a swift "where were you educated?" Needless to say the discussion dove into juvenile attacks and profanity; things I said in public that I am less than proud of. Finally I calm enough to recommend a barter: I sign over to him the title to the car and he returns the personal effects in the vehicle and negate the charges. He gets a car and I stuff back. Everyone's happy. Well, of course like a true extortionist he says that he will negate the storage fees but we still have to pay $238 for towing and admin fees and turn over the title or we can't even get our effects out of the vehicle. Best I know this itself is against the law as the personal effects are not part of the vehicle's whole, but I could be wrong. Basically the whole thing ended yesterday with me pissed and them hanging up on me again. Nothing solved, we're still going to be out a couple hundred and a vehicle.
The short and dirty:
From above the towing company never contacted us and had all of the information, even a phone number which is registered with the state. Basically They want as much money as they feel they can squeeze out of us. Legally would it be worth while to pursue this under any circumstance? (EG: extortion, wrongful taking, gross incompetence on the part of the tower/police, all of the above.) Should I even bother to contact an attorney, or am I wasting my time? What would you (/y'all tongue.gif) do in my shoes? The wife thinks I should just give in and pay the $230, but to me that's a tall order on top of a clear title for a vehicle. Just looking for more input.
For the towing issue my basic options are:
a.) Hold in there and see if they compromise
b.) Cave, pay the $238 dollars and leave it
c.) Lawyer up and sue the crap out of the schister
d.) Watch some more Law & Order then make a decision
e.) Some from Columns a,b and c.
f.) (insert your idea here) _______________________________________________
g.) Operation Vindication: beat the manager bloody until satiated or he caves, which ever comes last.
What to do about the cop:
a.) Leave it, there is not much constructive that can be done
b.) Bring the sob story to court (and risk get the book thrown at me)
c.) File a complaint with the precinct and which ever correct agencies might care to be interested.
d.) (insert your idea here as long as it wont get me arrested)___________________
(I'm leaning on section "a", as I have tried to deal with pissy cops before and been burnt)
02-06-2009, 09:07 AM
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That sux bro...go down there and beat some receptionist ass.
None of the following advice I may suggest may be help full or legal by the law, what I suggest would be purely out of revenge and may result
in jail time.
I say steal your car back or vandelise it.
Just vandelise everything, the impoundlot, the managers house everything.
All of that is bull and they have no right to do things like that.
None of the following advice I may suggest may be help full or legal by the law, what I suggest would be purely out of revenge and may result
in jail time.
I say steal your car back or vandelise it.
Just vandelise everything, the impoundlot, the managers house everything.
All of that is bull and they have no right to do things like that.
02-06-2009, 09:51 AM
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BBB and pay $230, lose the wrecked car. this country is communistic and more capitalist than less. i've heard so many stories like yours.
my friend and his girlfriend (polite, professional and educated people) got jumped by racist cops in the parking garage for noooo apparent reason, threw them in jail, cited them with 2nd degree assault for saying F U) so they both can't get jobs now, beat them both up, slammed his head against a tree and made his girl watch.
as much as i feel bad for you i can't give you professional advice. it was an accident in the snow, you were looking for your glasses. cop should have helped you look for them as cops are supposed to help not ruin people's lives as they do. my complaining (which isn't complaining, it's fact) isn't helping you though. i'll tell you, in this retarded place where citizens don't have any rights yet criminals do, you would be paying a lawyer anyways. it's best to pursue legal action if you're going to sue the f*** out of someone.
Majik has some good wisdom, i'm waiting for his response. your story though is f*cked bad just like the many more bullsh*t i've heard. those places, towing services, cops, impound people are terrible, rude, savages and will do anything for money.
my friend and his girlfriend (polite, professional and educated people) got jumped by racist cops in the parking garage for noooo apparent reason, threw them in jail, cited them with 2nd degree assault for saying F U) so they both can't get jobs now, beat them both up, slammed his head against a tree and made his girl watch.
as much as i feel bad for you i can't give you professional advice. it was an accident in the snow, you were looking for your glasses. cop should have helped you look for them as cops are supposed to help not ruin people's lives as they do. my complaining (which isn't complaining, it's fact) isn't helping you though. i'll tell you, in this retarded place where citizens don't have any rights yet criminals do, you would be paying a lawyer anyways. it's best to pursue legal action if you're going to sue the f*** out of someone.
Majik has some good wisdom, i'm waiting for his response. your story though is f*cked bad just like the many more bullsh*t i've heard. those places, towing services, cops, impound people are terrible, rude, savages and will do anything for money.
02-06-2009, 12:02 PM
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With cops usually the answer is easy, just find their superior who is usually much older and wiser and talk to them. You might be able to clear the whole thing up that way. Once I had a cop harrasing me about getting plates in OH while I was up there in school. My dad actually spent some time tracking down the guy he directly reports two. I didn't see the guy for 3 months! When I did he wouldn't talk to me.
02-06-2009, 04:30 PM
#7
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Contact an attorney. Best case, he'll take some action and help you. Worst case, you should be able to get some advice about how best to handle this on your own.
02-06-2009, 05:10 PM
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QUOTE (HyundaiKitCoupe @ Feb 6 2009, 10:51 AM)
Majik has some good wisdom, i'm waiting for his response.
it's busy season at work, 11hr days, so I haven't had time to read this. I look at the first post and think, "Eh... i'll read it later." It's just too much for me to attempt to read right now.
I shall return with wisdom... maybe after a few beers burp.gif Let's see what Sam Adams has to say...
eh, I took the time to read it.
Document every day you called, and what was said on that day (fees, etc.)
Document all the numbers you tried calling, every "department" you were transferred to and on which days.
Document everything possible.
When pleading your case in court, explain it in this way, "Over the 3 weeks after the accident, I attempted to contact the impound lot, police department via these phone numbers, this department, and I paid to receive copies of XXX and XXX. Because of the holidays, it was difficult to find people who could help me, with so many people on vacation. I provided my address with two phone numbers to be reached. On January xx, 2009, I was finally able to find my car. On 01/xx/2009, the receptionist said that two letters had been sent but returned, and provided no explanation as to why I wasn't contacted through the phone numbers I provided. I was told I owed $xxx. I called back on 01/xx/2009 to make arrangement to get my vehicle, and was told I was being rude and my fines were now up to $1,100 because of it. We yelled at each other, and hung up after a few minutes of getting nowhere. I called back on 01/xx/2009, and attempted to negotiate a way to get my vehicle returned to me, and was unable to reach a negotiable stance, even to my offer to trade the vehicle for my personal effects still inside."
Take the towing company to small claims court. Plead your side of the case. I'm sure it won't cost you much to do so, and you might leave with your vehicle back and only paying small fines. It's worth a shot. Oh, and don't read word for word when talking to the judge, just have a list of bullet items of the dates and what happened. Reading straight from a piece of paper doesn't make you seem as intelligent (IMO) and makes it seem like somebody wrote it for you. Speak well, act informed and educated, and try to prove that you've done everything in your power to resolve this.
02-06-2009, 06:18 PM
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If it were me I would find someone to steal my shit back out of the car (if it were important) and leave it rot there. Burn the title.
Or when youre signing the title make sure to put a rediculously high amount on what it was bought for so he can pay taxes on it.
Im not nice when people screw with me.
Or when youre signing the title make sure to put a rediculously high amount on what it was bought for so he can pay taxes on it.
Im not nice when people screw with me.
02-06-2009, 07:18 PM
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Before suing him, take all of that to the BBB, and make sure the towing company knows you did, so they know you mean business and you're not just some punk they can bully around. If that doesn't work, then the local news and small claims are your boy.
I learned from my last boss that sometimes people f*** around like this just because normally people don't stick up for themselves and let things slide. Once you show that you're willing to go the distance to defend yourself, they'll change their tune pretty quick.
I learned from my last boss that sometimes people f*** around like this just because normally people don't stick up for themselves and let things slide. Once you show that you're willing to go the distance to defend yourself, they'll change their tune pretty quick.