Two Arizona rules save people real money after a tow, and almost nobody knows about either one. You cannot be charged to take your own belongings out of a towed vehicle if you do it during normal business hours. And storage fees cannot accrue on a day when the lot was closed and not available by appointment. Both sit in the same statute, and both are worth raising at the counter before you pay.
A.R.S. § 28-4847 lets the registered owner presenting proof of ownership, an insurance company, or a person designated in writing by the owner inspect the vehicle and remove personal property from it. The statute then provides that the towing company may not require payment for the removal of personal property that is inside the vehicle if the inspection and removal occurs during normal business hours. Personal property for this purpose does not include vehicle parts, equipment or accessories.
The storage rule is the second one to know. The statute requires the facility to be open, or otherwise available by appointment at a specified day and time, between nine in the morning and five in the afternoon Monday to Friday excluding holidays, and provides that storage fees and charges may not accrue for any day when the storage lot is not open or available by appointment during those hours.
Put those together and the arithmetic on an Arizona storage bill is checkable. If the lot was shut on a Saturday and offered no appointment, that day should not be on the invoice. If you drove out to collect a child seat and a laptop during business hours, that visit should not have carried a fee.
Arizona also regulates the release of vehicles to owners and insurers under the same section, which is why an insurance total loss and a private retrieval follow different paths through the same lot.
Half of all tows are not chosen at all — a police rotation tow or a private property impound picks the company for you. The advice splits accordingly.
General information rather than legal advice. A.R.S. § 28-4847 has been amended several times and carries exceptions this page does not cover, so read the current statute or contact the Arizona Department of Transportation before relying on it in a dispute.
Not during normal business hours. A.R.S. Section 28-4847 provides that the towing company may not require payment for the removal of personal property that is inside the vehicle if the inspection and removal occurs during normal business hours. Personal property does not include vehicle parts, equipment or accessories.
No. The statute requires the facility to be open, or available by appointment at a specified day and time, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday excluding holidays, and provides that storage fees and charges may not accrue for any day when the storage lot is not open or available by appointment during those hours. Ask which days are being billed.
The registered owner presenting proof of ownership, the insurance company, or a person designated in writing by the owner may inspect the vehicle and remove personal property. Bring identification and proof of ownership, and if someone else is collecting on your behalf, put the designation in writing first.
Get the invoice itemized by hook fee, mileage and storage days before you pay, and check the storage days against the days the lot was actually open. Raise discrepancies in writing at the time. Complaints about towing practices in Arizona go to the Arizona Department of Transportation.