What action can I take if I paid for my car to be released from towing company but the driver took my car keys home?

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What action can I take if I paid for my car to be released from towing company but the driver took my car keys home?

Once I paid for my vehicle to be released, I didn’t receive my keys until 3 hours later which caused me to be late for work, I got into trouble and my employer took some of my hours away and now rent

is due. The towing company kept stating that the police took my keys once my car was impounded due to no insurance but when I kept going to the police station they stated that the towing company had my keys. After this relentless and stressful pursuit in trying to get my keys after paying for my car to be released and also trying to get to work, my girlfriend realized that she locked the door when they impounded it so they had to have them. After she called them brought this to their attention they finally said that they had them and that the driver accidentally took the keys home coincidentally he just so happened to stop by the company on his day off n that’s when she asked him does he have

my keys. I know accidents happen but this is something that shouldn’t happen if you have someone’s personal property. My car isn’t lavish or anything, however people do steal things just to make a quick buck and I didn’t know if the driver made copies or what. They told me to call back Monday make a complaint because no one from management was there in which I did on Tuesday because of work. I just simply want to be compensated for my trouble running all around town and causing me to lose money at work for being late for work from the towing company but they were so insensitive about my trouble that they caused and stated that nothing would be done but a complaint.

Asked on November 22, 2017 under Business Law, Georgia

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 6 years ago | Contributor

Possibly you can sue for the actual amount of time you missed from work (the number of hours you were late or not at work because th keys were not ready for you), but it is hardly likely to be worthwhile to do so. You may be able to sue for that amount because it was arguably negligent, or unreasonably careless, for them to not have your keys available for you. However, you cannot--
1) Sue for any additional hours your employer may have chosen to take away beyond the actual hours you were late, becaue that was not under the control of the towing company and they are not responsible for your employer's decision to do that.
2) Sue for any difficulty with your rent (e.g. if you are late and have to pay a late fee), since that is not the towing company's fault: they do not control your finances, and are not responsible for you not having savings to handle the loss of a few hours.
3) Sue for your inconvenience or time spent dealing with this--the law simply does not provide compensation for inconvenience or for wasting your time.
Again, all you can get is for the actual hours your were in fact late for or missed work due to the delay in getting the keys to you.


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