Ask an expert

Can you advise what, if any, authority a car towing firm has to unlock and enter a locked car?

Elizabeth

From the "Ask Jack" archives - 14 December 2009

Under the Transport Services Licensing Act, a tow truck driver may enter a vehicle as part of the process to secure the vehicle for towing from a public place, if called upon by an authorised third party such as police or a parking warden.

The law gets a bit "murky" when it comes to Private property.

A vehicle can be towed from private property under an old law called "Distress Damage Feasant" (goes back to when cows wandered onto private property and caused crop damage!).

Surprisingly, there is no legal requirement for private owners to display a warning that cars will be towed if parked illegally, or to provide contact details for the tow operator.

Most businesses do have signage however warning drivers of the risks of parking in either reserved or allocated car spaces or when parking on private property.

In either case the tow driver is to use due care and not damage the vehicle in any way when entering the vehicle in order to release the handbrake or secure the steering wheel.

I have had my car towed and i would like to know if i have a right to see / have a copy of the tow authority form from the tow company? Also my car was parked in a car park where i lease a carpark space. The tow company said it was not the carpark owner who i lease from but a person who leases another carpark space (like i do) who authorised the tow. The car park owner has said they did not authorise the tow. Is someone who is not the car park owner able to have a car towed?

When you say the "carpark owner" I presume you mean the person entitled to use that space.
In general terms, the towing company will have been given blanket authority from the company operating the carpark to tow any vehicle parked in a spot not designated to that vehicle or driver.
Towing of vehicles from private carparks is such a contentious subject, but if your vehicle was parked in a space not designated to you, the towing company most likely has the authority to tow the vehicle.

Sorry i was not clear. Towing company refusing to give me a copy of tow authority nor any information off it other than the land owner authorised the tow. When i contact the land owner (the people i pay to lease my car park from), they say they did not authorise the tow. So i don't actually know who did. So am i entitled to see the tow authority? Something not right but without the information don't know what to do next.

The 'tow authority' is between the tow company and whoever authorised it - which should be the landowner - but I don't believe they're obligated to show it to you. You don't say if you have been fined, but if so, I suggest you request the landowner (who you lease the car park from) to write to the tow company confirming that you were entitled to park there (your name, car make & model and rego number) and that they did not authorise your car to be towed and that they request that the fine be waived. You pay rent to them, so they have an obligation to sort out the dispute on your behalf if they accept your version of events.