It is not uncommon for a wrecker driver to damage the door
locks of a vehicle he/she is going to tow without the vehicle owner's
permission.
When retrieving your vehicle from the storage facility, you always
want to check every door that has key locks, to see rather or not they still
lock or unlock the vehicle. Another way to tell if your vehicle has been
unlocked is the weather stripping at the bottom of the glass is torn, bent or
detached from the door shell.
There is really no valid reason for a wrecker
driver to unlock a locked vehicle, considering the towing industry provides all
the necessary equipment to tow a vehicle. In most cases, a honest wrecker driver, when
peering into the vehicle, will list items seen on the vehicle inventory sheet,
while a dishonest wrecker driver will just steal what they want and write on the vehicle inventory
form that the doors were unlocked.
In any event you find that your vehicle has
been opened, while at the storage facility, you most definitely want to call 911
and file a report for burglary of your vehicle. If you find that your door
locks don't work, you most definitely want to call the Police to make a damage
report and be sure to get the offense number, so when you file a complaint
against the towing company and vehicle storage facility, for damage or personal
effects stolen from your vehicle, you can include this offense report number in
the explanation of your complaint.
In every insurance claim or TDLR complaint filed against a
towing company and vehicle storage facility, having a Police offense report
number validates your claim, as without it, it's your word against the towing
company, and they are known to be pathological liars.
Never, should you ever
leave the Vehicle Storage Facility property if you discover damage to your
vehicle without having law enforcement come and take a report.
Once you leave
the storage lot and notice items missing, your chance of any recovery is slim
to none.
If you ever see someone trying to unlock a vehicle in any
parking lot with a “slim jim” (door unlocking tool) with a tow truck nearby,
call 911 immediately to report someone attempting to burglarize a vehicle.
