What would happen if your car was towed and you retrieved it from the tow lot (using your own key) without paying the tow fee?

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What would happen if your car was towed and you retrieved it from the tow lot (using your own key) without paying the tow fee?

I actually did this while attending university day/ night school classes.  One night all the cars in a particular school lot and adjoining business lots in the neighborhood, like that of McDs/ BK... places where students tend to hang out in general, were towed by a privately owned firm and likely were towed illegally.  Angrily I drove to the tow lot and found no one there since they were on a towing binge that night.  I was able to easily open the poorly locked gate and get to my vehicle.  I got in and drove off. 

About a mile down the road I realized I had probably made a big mistake and drove the car back and put it back in roughly the same spot.  Before I could leave, the tow truck returned with another victim.  Needless to say he was perplexed to find his gate open and me by my car.  We had a heated exchange, I lied profusely about how the whole situation and demanded he take my payment and let me have my car.  He said he was calling the campus police to have me charged with attempted grand theft auto.  The campus police arrived, we both made our cases ( albeit mine was a hefty lie ) and in the end he basically said since there were no witnesses and there was no harm and no foul the owner should take my now discounted payment and let me be on my way.  I also think he believed the tow was illegal, but wasn't going to go there for fear of the school's insirance liability.  I was still scared that some video footage or a witness might surface and thus was looking over my shoulder for quite some time thereafter for the police to arrive.  They never did and I am glad I returned the car and didn't have to face more dire consequences.  Oh the stupidity of youth!

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...Thos. S. Retired former Police Sgt., Los Angeles Police Department LA, CA (1973-2004)

During the last few years on the police department and for years after retiring I also owned a recovery company. My company contracted with small car lots and also major financial institutions.

We operated in southern California and later in Arizona and Texas. We were very busy most of the time and I owned a large storage lot. At any time we had at least 50 repossessed cars on the lot.

Now on this particular day I repossessed a fairly brand new cherry red corvette and took it to my lot. The debtor, a company, had put a large down payment on the vehicle and never made a payment. Likely gave it away as a reward, award or raffle and the regs transferee had to make payments and didn't.

Now seven months after purchasing the vehicle the bank requested the repossession.

After unhooking the vehicle from my wrecker I closed and locked my gate and went home.

The next morning I arrived at my lot and found the lock cut and the car missing. I called the police. I also reviewed the video from my surveillance system and observed the aledged debtor cutting the lock and taking the vehicle.

When the officer arrived I showed him the video and filed a report.

After the officer left I had two of my guys go to his residence and check to see if he returned it to his house. I went to his architectural firm and found that he had hidden it in a parking structure adjacent to his firm.

I called the police and told them that I had found the vehicle and that the debtor was at work.

So now Mr. Smartypants not only got his vehicle repossessed a second time ( at $1,000 a pop ) he got to go jail for

#1 breaking and entering,
# 2 vandalism,
# 3 trespassing,
# 4 hiding a stock in trade
( in California if you hide the property of another to permanently deprive the owner of the property it's also theft ) and # 4.

And the part I enjoyed the most is that he was arrested in front of his boss and two clients and potential customers. Yet another good day in the neighborhood.