Rapid Tow stole my car from my parking lot, without any cause and in direct violation of the law!
To give you some background, my tags expired on my vehicle, and i was attempting to straighten out some issues with the DMV and my registration, they were kind enough to give me a 30 moving tag so that i could take care of the things that needed to be done such as Smog testing, etc. I arrived too late to have my plates given to me on Aug 20th, and the DMV was unable to grant me an additional moving permit as the one i had was expired, so the DMV told me to come back the next day before their systems shut down to have my issues handled.
I took my vehicle home to my condo and parked it in my usual parking spot, and went about the rest of my day as usual. Went to sleep that night, and when i woke the next day i was ready to go back to the DMV to get the rest of my registration handled. Walked outside to find my truck missing. I though it was stolen, and a neighbor pointed out that it could have been towed because of my expired registration. I decided i should call the tow company before calling the police, and i'll be damned Rapid Tow has my truck. They told me that they were dispatched by the HOA (which is unlikely because they're based in Dallas, TX) because there was a vehicle with expired registration parked on their property. I asked them why they didn't give me a 48 notice as i have seen before, and they told me that the HOA's contractual agreement with them states that they do not have to "tag" a vehicle before taking it.
I investigated and found that Nevada Revised Statute 487.038 clearly states "cars in violation of an Home Owners Association's parking rules must receive a 48 hour notice before being towed." the statue goes on further to state "the association must post written written notice on the vehicle, or provide oral or written notice to the the owner or operator of the vehicle at least 48 hours before the association may direct the removal if the vehicle" Guess what? Yup, never got any written notice, but the guy at the tow yard seems to think that Rapid Tows contract with my HOA somehow must supersede state laws. Great, next time i get stopped by a cop i'll see if i can use the "contracted" excuse as to why i blew threw a redlight in a school zone.
Called the police to report my truck as stolen, they told me that it was something that i'd have to take up with my HOA (translated: we don't feel like helping) i asked why i could not report a clear violation of the Nevada Revised Statutes (the same statutes that govern everything from speeding, tax evasion, murder and the like), and the operator told me that it was a HOA issue, and that the Metropolitan Police would not get involved. So they can uphold numerous statutes that are inane, but they chose to ignore this one...? They also informed me that my truck was reported as being taken by Rapid Tow "from a block away from my house" I asked her why i would park my vehicle with expired registration a block from where i live when i have a perfectly good parking spot 20 feet from my door." That's an issue that you'll have to take up with your HOA" was the response.
I am contacting an attorney as i write this report, as well as filing a complaint with the Nevada Transportation Department, the BBB, and writing to my city counsel-man as well as the secretary of state. I'll update this post when i have seen it to fruition
0 comments