I just moved into a new house and car was towed overnight – they told me license expired and charged $470 but I had proof

A WOMAN had to leave a note in her car in a bid to stop it being towed after moving to a new home.

The note she left in her vehicle when she moved into her apartment in 2022 simply reminded the towing company patrolling her apartment parking lot of an updated Colorado law.

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Felicia Jan Bryant left a reminder for tow truck drivers about the state’s updated Bill of Rights to Tow law after waking up to find her car missing one day, CBS News reported.

“I panicked because I have a KIA and I know that nationally KIAs are ripe for the taking,” she explained.

When her car was towed just a week after she moved into her apartment, a temporary parking pass was in her window.

When she noticed the car was missing, Bryant didn’t think it had been towed.

“My car was towed outside my window,” she emphasized.

Bryant went to the leasing office despite not believing it would be towed and discovered that it was, in fact, towed.

Her leasing office showed her a photo that the tow truck driver captured before loading the car into the back of the tow truck and she pointed out that she could see her parking card in the image.

After learning what happened to his vehicle, Bryant took action.

She called the towing company to tell them her car was illegally towed from her residence.

The company told her that despite illegally towing her vehicle, there was nothing she could do about it. However, the Colorado Bill of Towing Rights says otherwise.

The Towing Bill of Rights law took effect in August 2022, adding rules about when towing companies can tow cars from private residential areas.

Bryant paid the towing company to release his car and immediately contacted the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies and filed a complaint.

Not only is she still getting settled into her new apartment, the fees to get her car back are $470 plus tax, local news outlet CPR reported.

After working with them, she got her money back.

Unfair Towing in Colorado

Under the Colorado Bill of Rights, residents have been granted rights related to the non-consensual towing of vehicles. Relevant changes include:

Tows that occur on private residential properties may be considered illegal – including but not limited to

• Apartments
• Condominiums
• Private neighborhoods
• Mobile home parks

Towing carriers are required to give 24 hours notice before towing a vehicle from private residential properties.

It is not permitted to tow vehicles with expired plates/registration unless the towing company is advised by the police.

Towing companies must release the vehicle to its owner free of charge, if requested, while the tow truck driver still has the car on private property.

The driver’s vehicle must be released by a towing company if the owner pays 15% of the total value, not to exceed $60.

Towing companies will now have to release the contents of towed automobiles to the car owner if requested.

Source: CPR.org

That said, towing the car was just a hassle, Wyatt’s Towing told CBS News.

Despite not being willing to work with Bryant to return his vehicle, Wyatt’s Towing said his apartment complex has changed the design of its temporary parking passes.

The towing company has not made this change regarding the updated pass in their system.

Because of this, the tow truck that picked up Bryant’s vehicle did not recognize his parking pass as valid.

According to State Lawtowing companies must provide written notice 24 hours in advance of a non-consensual tow.

The law extended Colorado residents new rights related to nonconsensual vehicle towing, with many of the protections only applying to towing that occurs on private residential property.