The car was damaged during evacuation, what should I do?

A car was damaged during evacuation: what to do?

Situations where a tow truck damages a car during transportation happen more often than it might seem at first glance. Broken roofs, torn bumpers, dents on the body - these are just a small part of the damage that you can find on the surface of your car, leaving it unattended for a while. What to do in such a situation? Is the damage an insured event? And is it possible to ensure an effective fight against the culprit in court to obtain compensation?

Let's consider all these points in more detail. And first of all, it is worth noting that the general practice that Moscow lawyers have already encountered is this: in this case, you cannot expect to receive compensation from the insurance company. But it is quite possible to recover monetary compensation from the evacuation service. True, if the damage is not an insured event, you will hardly have to hope for a substantial jackpot here either. And no one can cancel the associated costs of examination and legal costs.

What damage can the car get?

Typically, receiving compensation requires more than just proof that the vehicle is in the parking lot. Evacuation services are in no hurry to compensate citizens dissatisfied with their services for the damage they have suffered. And since such incidents are not an insured event, then both the damage examination and the collection of evidence will have to be carried out independently. And yet, the first action in a situation where you are sure that the car was damaged by a tow truck is to contact the company that transported the vehicle.

In fact, if there is damage, an attentive car owner will in any case notice it already at the impound lot. The most common reasons for receiving compensation are:

scratches on the surface of the bumper;
torn or broken wings;
lost mudguards;
dents on the surface of the body.

It is important to understand that towing services are not always directly involved in vehicle damage. For example, leaving a vehicle with its wheels turned out, the driver exposes his property to additional risks. And when proving that the car was damaged by a tow truck, this factor will also have to be taken into account. If the car is insured under CASCO, you can contact the insurance company to receive compensation. According to experts from the Autonews website, only those car owners who take care of defending their own interests in advance and include this clause in the contract will be able to get what they want. Then, having proven that the car was damaged by a tow truck, you can count on covering the costs of repairs.

How to prove that a tow truck damaged a car while loading?

If there is evidence that the car was damaged during evacuation, any lawyer will tell you what to do next. The Autonews portal recommends not to put off solving problems that have arisen. It will be much easier to find evidence that the transportation company is to blame in the first 24 hours. CCTV cameras, possible witnesses, and even certificates issued when contacting a car service center and confirming the serviceability of the car at a certain point in time will be used.

What to do if a tow truck damaged your car, but there is no question of compensation? The procedure in this case will be as follows:

Contacting the services of independent experts to draw up a report on the damage received with a list of them and the reasons for their occurrence. The original should be kept with you. Send a copy to the company where the car was damaged during towing, along with the completed claim.
Going to court. If the car owner only has a compulsory motor liability insurance policy, if voluntary compensation for losses is refused, he should immediately file a lawsuit. It is important that the refusal document is sent to the address of the claim maker by the company. Otherwise, in court, the position of the parties may change somewhat.
Trying to get CASCO insurance. True, the wording of the insured event will not be damage received during transportation of the car, but a “malicious act.” If you can convince the company that the actions of the personnel servicing the tow truck are to blame for everything, you can prove that there are opportunities to pay compensation.

If your car was damaged during evacuation, you should first weigh the pros and cons of an active fight. Indeed, in this case, the injured party is obviously a traffic violation violator, which, when filing a lawsuit, may no longer work in favor of the plaintiff. However, the VashBuksir.RF portal still recommends not to rush to conclusions. After all, today, if desired, every car owner has the opportunity to defend his rights cogently and clearly.

What to do if your car is damaged during evacuation and at the impound lot

In case of violations of the law, in certain cases, vehicles may be sent to an impound lot. At the same time, despite the special vehicles used during transportation and the professionalism of the evacuation service employees, the car is often damaged.

Reason for being sent to the impound lot

The reasons that constitute the basis for the forced evacuation of transport are indicated in Art. 27.13 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

These reasons are:

the driver was driving while intoxicated (alcohol, drugs);
freight transport does not comply with safety requirements when transporting cargo;
the car is parked in places not intended for parking, creating interference for other vehicles or pedestrians;
the person driving the vehicle did not have a driver’s license with him;
the car turned out to be faulty after an accident;
irregularities in the operation of the steering or braking system are detected.

With the last two points, the car owner can independently decide whether to send the car to a impound lot, or hire a tow truck to deliver the vehicle to a personal garage or to a car repair shop for repairs.

What documents are drawn up

Before detaining a car and sending it to a forced parking place, the traffic police inspector must:

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After all procedural norms have been complied with, the car is loaded onto the forklift platform and delivered to the parking lot.

We will tell you in more detail about the rules for drawing up a vehicle acceptance certificate. There is no approved form, but each region can establish a standard form. We suggest considering what general points should be present in the document:

All persons present during the drawing up of the act and included in the commission must sign the document stating that the transfer of the car took place without violations.

Procedure for detecting damage

Transporting a car to a parking lot is carried out for various reasons. Therefore, the car may be damaged at any stage of the evacuation.

Let's find out exactly how to act in this or that case.

If the car was damaged during evacuation

As soon as the car owner notices a violation, he must act immediately:

suspend further transportation and require the traffic police officer to record new damage;
it is necessary to contact independent experts to find out the real amount of damage to the car owner. Experienced specialists will examine the damage and issue a conclusion about the damage caused. As a result, the document must contain information about recent and old damage. Thanks to this document, citizens will have a powerful argument in a controversial situation with an evacuation company.
write a statement requesting payment of compensation for property damage caused;

After this, all that remains is to wait for the money to be transferred, or contact a judicial authority for further proceedings.

If the owner was not around

There are also cases when the owner was absent at the time of evacuation of the car. For example, a car was parked in the wrong place, so a decision was made to send it to the impound lot.

First, the owner must find out where his car is located. To do this, he must call the duty station or the traffic police hotline, which receives information about all such cases;
after that, he must go to the traffic police department that drew up the protocol on forced transportation in order to obtain permission to release the car from the paid parking lot. A second copy of the transfer and acceptance certificate from one office to another is also issued;
Then you need to go to the specified address to pick up the car.

Before signing papers stating claims against the carrier company and those responsible for storing the car, you must make sure that there is no damage not indicated in the transfer protocol.

An inspection report should be drawn up when accepting the vehicle from storage. The document describes all existing damage. If necessary, specialists from an independent center are invited to conduct an examination.

If the owner discovers damage that was not previously recorded, then he must understand that the damage was caused not at the time the car was transferred from the evacuation site, but during transportation or during storage. This means that the responsible persons made a mistake and damaged the transport.

The measures taken will allow you to receive compensation for the damage caused as soon as possible.

How to make a claim

We will tell you about the rules for filing a complaint by citizens who received their car after being towed with damage:

you need to contact the immediate supervisor of the evacuation service in writing;
write personal information about the applicant (full name, residential address, etc.);
inform the date and time of transportation of the car;
express your objections to the violations committed with reference to regulations (Article 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);
list the damage found, and also indicate the amount that will be required to compensate for repair work;
write a request that the company that delivered the car to the storage location compensate for the damage caused.

The complaint is drawn up in two copies, one is sent to the organization, and the second remains with the applicant.

When submitting a claim to the company that committed the violation, you must have confirmation that the application was accepted for consideration.

If the document was handed over in person, you should ask to mark the acceptance of the complaint. If personal delivery is not possible, the claim is sent by registered mail; a notice must be returned to the applicant with a note that the letter was delivered to the official.

To file a complaint, you need to prepare a certain list of documents.

This list includes:

arrest report drawn up by a traffic police inspector;
documents confirming expenses incurred (checks, receipts);
papers giving the car the right and reason to be in the impound lot;
opinion of independent experts on the damage caused and the cost of repairs;
written explanations from the employee who transferred the car to the storage location;
other documents if available, for example, witness statements.

It is better to keep the originals of the existing documents; if they are lost due to someone’s negligence, then you can always make duplicates from the stored originals.

How to get compensation

Unfortunately, this case is not insured, so there is no point in applying for compensation from the Insurer under the current compulsory motor liability insurance policy.

Car owners can resolve the controversial issue in two ways:

After a written appeal to the management of the company that delivered the transport to the impound lot, the victim received compensation for property damage.

If the first method fails to resolve the issue, the owner can file an application with the court. The claim is submitted in writing at the place of registration of the violator’s company.

Car owners must understand that if they themselves do not want to defend their rights, then no one will do it for them. Therefore, you need to be patient and take measures to punish the perpetrators and receive compensation for the damage caused.

Your car was damaged in a parking lot - what to do?

You are faced with the fact that your car was damaged at the impound lot. So, we’ll look at what to do in this case in this article. Your car, detained at the impound lot, during the removal process, or subsequently while in the special parking lot, was damaged. In such cases, each vehicle owner should know how to behave in this situation, what documents will be needed to resolve the problem, as well as how to draw up a report and claim necessary to compensate for the damage received.

Finding out the reasons for evacuation of a car to an impound lot

Before sending a seized vehicle to the impound lot, the traffic police officer must draw up two documents. The first document is a protocol, which indicates the points of the Code of Administrative Offenses that were violated. The second is the vehicle detention protocol. Copies of documents prepared by the traffic police inspector are handed over to the owner of the vehicle. If the car is not detained before your eyes, the inspector will report the fact of detention to the duty station, and after that the operative will contact you and inform you about the fact of detention and the specific place where the car was delivered.

Inspection of a damaged car at the impound lot

You find your car damaged at the impound lot. First of all, you need to check if there are any missing parts or other damage. Inspect for dents and scratches, for torn body parts, for the integrity of mirrors, glass, bumpers and rims, and so on.

Remember! It is impossible to sign the act of accepting the car from the impound lot without taking into account all the damage received, because by putting your signature, you automatically agree that you have no claims against the impound lot. To prevent the towing service workers from blaming you for the damage and claiming that your car was damaged even before loading onto the tow truck, when registering the vehicle you must call the traffic police, they will draw up a report and record the damage. The next step is to conduct an independent examination to assess the cost of the damage caused. Such a claim does not have an unambiguous form, but in order to correctly draw up the document, you need to indicate:

Territorial and legal address of the impound lot, legal name, full name of the manager;
Your data, full name, registration address or place of residence, contact phone number;
Document's name;
Date and place of evacuation, reason, document details, as well as references on the basis of which the detention was made;
List of damages received by the car;
The demand, in our case, is the demand for compensation for damage caused by the actions of the tow truck and company employees;
Amount of damage caused;
Your intentions in case of refusal to pay or ignoring the claim, these intentions are to go to court;
Date and signature.

Personally deliver the claim to the manager of the impound lot. Get him to sign off on acceptance of the document on the second copy, which you will need to keep. Or send your claim by registered mail.

Who pays for the damage caused to the car during evacuation to the impound lot?

Damage incurred during the evacuation or storage of a car in an impound lot is not an insured event under MTPL, since it implies compensation for damage exclusively while the car is moving. Try to obtain compensation out of court. This option is not often implemented. Be prepared in advance for the fact that you will have to defend your rights in court.

What to do if your car is damaged during evacuation?

Damage to a vehicle during towing is not that uncommon. A car that is moved to an impound lot or to a service station with the help of auto towing services can be damaged both during the loading and unloading process and in the parking lot itself.

Not every car owner knows the correct sequence of actions in such a situation to achieve compensation for the damage caused. The information below contains a clear algorithm of actions in such situations.

Damage was found in the impound lot

When you come to pick up your car from such an institution, you should definitely inspect it in the most thorough manner. Inspect whether all external parts (moldings, mirrors, etc.) are in place, whether there are any scratches, chips, dents or cracks on the glass. Sign the document on receipt of the car only after you are convinced of its integrity.

Loading a car must be carried out in compliance with certain rules, non-compliance with which by the towing service employees greatly simplifies the collection of evidence of their guilt in damaging the car.

The process of registering the detention of a vehicle and its further transportation must necessarily include the following points (otherwise it will be impossible to claim that the car was damaged before evacuation):

Mandatory drawing up of a protocol by a traffic police officer, in which it is necessary to indicate:

date and place of its preparation;
data of the traffic police inspector;
the grounds on which the car was detained, indicating the articles of the Code of Administrative Offenses violated by the driver;
car owner data and information about the car itself;
details of the service that will be responsible for storing the machine;
an inventory of valuables in the cabin;
indication of visible external damage to the vehicle.

If the car was towed with the driver, then he must be given a copy of the protocol.
If the car was taken away without the owner, then after finding it at the impound lot, a copy of the protocol must be requested from the traffic police.
Video recording of the car loading process must be carried out.
If video recording is not possible, the process is photographed.
The protocol must contain the contact details of witnesses and their signatures. The tow truck driver can be a witness on completely legal grounds.

Very often, impound lots are located on the territory adjacent to the traffic police department, so most likely you won’t have to go far to get your copy of the protocol. Yes, your signature is required on both copies.

Three main cases of car damage during evacuation

Most often, a car is damaged under the following circumstances:

Evacuation after an accident.
Evacuation for violation of parking rules.
Evacuation to a service station or gas station.

Let's take a closer look at how to act in each case.

Towing a car involved in an accident

There is a certain procedure for procedural actions, according to which all damage caused to the car as a result of an accident is recorded using photos or video recording.
All these damages must be indicated in the annex to the protocol.
If new damage was caused to your car while loading the car with a tow truck, be sure to record it in the acceptance certificate that the towing service will issue to you.
If at the time of damage during loading there is no traffic police officer or police nearby, then he must be called.
If the damage was received while unloading the car or you discovered it directly at the impound lot, then the police must also be called. After checking the detected damages with those recorded in the protocol, a report on the damage caused is drawn up.

The car was towed for violating traffic rules.

In this case, a protocol must be drawn up.
If, upon receiving the car at the impound lot, the car owner discovered damage that was not indicated in the annex to the protocol, then the police should be called.
The arriving police, in the presence of witnesses, must point out the fact of the presence of damage that is not reflected in the protocol and draw up a separate report about this.
If the evacuation service employees do not agree that the damage was caused by their fault, then a claim is drawn up and submitted to the head of this organization.

The car is towed to a service station or gas station

As a rule, this process is accompanied by the driver or car owner.
No vehicle detention protocols are drawn up.
An act of acceptance and transfer of the vehicle is drawn up, in which the existing external defects of the vehicle must be thoroughly described before loading the vehicle.
If, after unloading the vehicle, damage was found on it that is not reflected in the above report, then a claim is made to the head of the transporting organization.
You should definitely draw up a report and call an independent appraiser who will make a conclusion about the damage caused.

We draw up a transfer and acceptance certificate

This document must contain the following mandatory items:

Title, date and place of document preparation.

The first paragraph of the document indicates information about the movement of the car:

Full names of three participants (inspector, car owner and tow truck operator);
it is indicated that the transfer of the car occurs from the traffic police inspector of the organization towing your car;
indicates which vehicle is being transferred (make, model, registration numbers, color, etc. - as completely as possible);
Existing external damage is described in detail;
lists the additional equipment that is installed on the machine;
valuable items located in the cabin are indicated;
it is noted whether a photo or video was taken at the time of loading and unloading of the vehicle;
indicates the place where the car was detained and the place where it will be delivered for storage;
at the end of the first paragraph of the act, information is indicated that the car was sealed and handed over to the towing service;
the act is signed by all persons specified in it.

The second paragraph of the act contains information about storing the car:

time, date and name of the organization accepting the car for storage;
results of an inspection of the car with a description of its condition and the property in the cabin;
information about photo or video shooting;
signatures of those participating in the acceptance and transfer of the vehicle.

The third paragraph describes the process of transferring the vehicle to its owner:

details of the person acting on behalf of the organization that accepted the car for storage;
it must be indicated which specific car is being issued to the owner;
the exact date and time when this occurs;
signature of the car owner upon receipt of the vehicle;
a column where new detected damage to the vehicle is indicated;
signatures of the parties.

The same document, but drawn up for a car whose owner did not violate traffic rules, but simply ordered transportation of a car that was unable to move, is called a “Certificate of Work Completed” from a third-party organization. It does not indicate the fact that the vehicle was detained and the text therefore has a slightly different content.

Making a claim against the evacuation service

Until this point, you need to conduct an independent examination with vehicle appraisers. In his conclusion, the expert must indicate that the indicated damage is fresh, inflicted quite recently, and what specific damage was inflicted. This document will be a serious argument in a dispute with tow truck operators.

The claim must contain the following points and their order:

To (full name of the head of the organization).
From whom (full name of the owner of the car with its name).
The first paragraph must contain the date, time of evacuation and the name of the organization that accepted the car for storage.
Now indicate that you do not agree with the actions of the tow truck workers, which resulted in damage to the car.
The following lists the legal norms according to which damage caused to your property is subject to compensation (for example, Article 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
In the next paragraph, indicate the damage and the amount required to repair it. Indicate whether there is an attachment to the claim - an assessment by an independent expert.
At the end of the claim, demand compensation for the damage caused.

Attachments to the claim

All documents, or rather, copies of them, which prove the legitimacy of the car owner’s claims (and their size) must be attached to the submitted claim.

Here is their list:

vehicle detention protocol;
documents confirming payment for car evacuation and storage services;
copies of documents confirming the legality of the car being in the impound lot;
a copy of the expert appraiser's report;
If the interests of the car owner are not represented by himself, then a power of attorney is required.

The claim is drawn up in two copies, one of which remains with the owner of the car.

Where to complain

If a car that has been towed due to traffic violations is damaged, you should file a complaint with the traffic police hotline.

To recover damages, a claim is submitted to the organization that directly towed your car.

If the claim is rejected or is not responded to in any way, then a statement of claim is drawn up and submitted to the court at the place of your registration or the location of the defendant. To do this, you can contact lawyers or legal advice.

What to do if your car is damaged during evacuation?

According to the Code of Administrative Offenses, if the rules of parking and stopping are ignored, the vehicle will be evacuated to a impound lot. In addition, the services of vehicle evacuation workers are resorted to in the event of a car breakdown or damage in an accident. Despite the fact that evacuation to special vehicles is carried out by professional forklifts, the vehicle is often damaged during the evacuation process.

In this article we will tell you what to do if your car was damaged during towing, where to complain and how to prove that the vehicle was damaged while being loaded onto a tow truck?

How to evacuate a vehicle according to the rules?

If your vehicle breaks down or is damaged as a result of an accident, and you cannot drive it to a repair station yourself, you should contact the services of a towing service.

Read here what to do and where to call if your car has been towed.

To avoid a situation where a car is damaged during loading , and you cannot prove the guilt of the tow truck workers or hold them accountable on the basis of a concluded contract for the provision/receipt of services, you should adhere to the following tips:

When tow trucks arrive at the call site, it is necessary to request the conclusion of an agreement for the transportation of a specific vehicle ;

To conclude such an agreement, you do not need to have special approved forms or other official documents. You can draw up a contract for the provision of services yourself, usually on an A4 sheet.

At the same time, it must contain the following mandatory information: day/month/year and exact time of vehicle transportation; the address where the evacuation is carried out; details of the car owner (last name, first name, patronymic); license plates of the evacuated vehicle; numbers of the tow truck on which loading is carried out; evacuation cost.

The drawn up agreement must be signed by both the owner of the vehicle and the tow truck employees.

Take clear photographs of the car from all angles;

The date and time must be visible on the photograph, otherwise, if necessary, it will not be possible to prove that the car looked exactly like this on the day of evacuation.

In a separate document, write down everything about the towed vehicle : existing defects and damage on the external/internal part of the vehicle; availability of converted parts/other important parts;

This document must also be signed by the driver of the evacuated vehicle and the person loading and further transporting the vehicle.

Bottom line: the listed manipulations will help you evacuate the vehicle according to the rules and defend your truth in case it is accidentally damaged.

If the car was towed without the owner's knowledge

A completely different situation arises when a car is towed due to a violation of parking rules and a parking lot when the driver is not there.

According to the rules, evacuation to the impound lot should be carried out as follows:

The traffic police inspector draws up a protocol on a specific traffic violation, which entails the evacuation of the vehicle;

Read what traffic violations are recorded by video cameras here.

Next, a document is drawn up confirming the fact of temporary arrest of the vehicle;
Afterwards, an inventory of the car is drawn up, which indicates all identified external damage to the vehicle;

Subsequently, when picking up the car from the impound lot and contacting the traffic police to receive a protocol for paying the fine, you must also request a photocopy of the compiled inventory of the vehicle with the indicated defects. This document will help prove the damage to the vehicle received during evacuation.

If the car is damaged during evacuation: procedure

If the vehicle was damaged during the evacuation , you can recover the cost of the damage caused in one of the following ways:

Make a written claim to the evacuation service;
Submit a claim to the court;

If, after evacuation, at an impound lot or at a car service center, you find damage, you should immediately take the following actions:

Call the State Traffic Inspectorate, who will record the detected damage in the appropriate protocol;
Afterwards, the inspector will order an independent examination, which will determine the cost of the damage received;
Make a written complaint about the towing service.

The complaint must include the following information:

details of the operation service/penalty parking;
applicant's details (last name, first name, patronymic), contact phone number;
the name of the document, namely “Complaint”;
evacuation description: description of the evacuation location, vehicle model, listing of documents drawn up during evacuation, reasons for evacuation, etc.;
description of the reason for filing the complaint: discovery of damage;
requirements for the evacuation service: compensation for the cost of damage caused, established during an independent examination;
Recording the amount of damage caused;
Indication of the intention to file a similar petition with the court if it is not satisfied at the pre-trial stage;
Personal signature of the applicant;
Indicating the date of filing the complaint;
Description of the attached additional materials;

List of attached documents

The following documents may be attached to the complaint:

A protocol drawn up by a traffic police officer during the evacuation of a vehicle (if the vehicle was evacuated without the knowledge of the owner);
A drawn up vehicle transportation agreement (if the vehicle was evacuated at the request of the owner);
Inventory of the vehicle compiled by the traffic police inspector after inspecting the vehicle before evacuation;
Inventory of the vehicle compiled by the owner himself before voluntary evacuation (with the attachment of photographs taken);
Document for receiving the vehicle from the impound lot indicating the damage detected, which was recorded by the traffic police officer;
A document with the results of an independent examination;
Other additional documents that confirm the forced additional expenses of the car owner;

itself must be submitted in two copies, one of which will remain in the hands of the car owner, and the other will be sent to the appeal authority.