INDIANAPOLIS — Have you ever walked out to the parking lot and realized your car had been towed? You’re not alone, but in Indiana, there are very specific laws about when your vehicle can be towed, and some towing companies aren’t following them.
In Indiana, there’s a “24-hour” law.
Under that law, any vehicle left on private property is considered an abandoned vehicle, but before it can be towed, it must be tagged with a notification sticker and left for 24 hours.
Andre McCallister says he didn’t get that courtesy when trying to help a friend whose vehicle broke down – and he’s not the only one.
“(The car) broke down and instead of fixing it on the interstate with all the traffic at 5 o’clock, I pushed it over here in the parking lot,” McCallister said. “I figured I would come back the next day after work to fix it.”
McCallister said the car needed a quick repair, but he couldn’t get the part until the next day. But when he returned less than 24 hours later, the car was gone.
“I got back the next day at 1:30 in the afternoon and the car was gone,” McCallister said.
He thought someone had stolen it. It was actually towed.
The sticker on the vehicle, a ticket written from Eagle/Trident Security based in Carmel, was written at 3:33 a.m.
The security company called Cooks Towing 11 minutes later, according to the tow company’s invoice, which also shows the car was towed just 53 minutes after that.
According to state law, a vehicle can be towed immediately if it’s an emergency situation or if it’s impacting a business, but the Marsh where McCallister parked his friend’s vehicle has been closed since July 2017.
Call 6 reached out to Eagle/Trident Security and Cooks Towing to find out why the car was towed so quickly, but neither company has returned our calls.
City officials in Indianapolis say towing companies must follow the state law when it comes to towing from private property.
What should you do if you get towed and the company didn’t follow the state law?
First, try to dispute the tow with the tow company.
If that doesn’t work, file a complaint, but make sure you keep all of your paperwork.
In Indianapolis, you can make a complaint by calling 317-327-TOWS or by emailing tows@indy.gov.
