TowingBossPro Blog — Tow Dispatch

Dispatching Impound and Storage Tows: Starting the Storage Clock Correctly

An impound tow does not end when the car hits your yard. In a sense, that is when it starts. The vehicle may sit for days or weeks. The owner will call. The account that requested the tow may need records. And the storage charges depend entirely on when the clock started and what the daily rate was.

If dispatch gets the details right at the start, the rest is easy. If not, someone in the office spends a long time reconstructing what happened.

Why Impounds Need More Detail

The recovery calls in Dispatching Accident and Recovery Calls: Information to Get Before the Truck Rolls often end in your yard too. Impound and storage calls are different from a normal tow because the owner is usually not present and the vehicle is going to sit. That means the record has to stand on its own. Anyone who looks at it later should be able to tell exactly what vehicle was towed, from where, when and why.

TowingBossPro keeps Impound & Storage as its own category, so these calls are easy to find on the board and in reports.

Vehicle Details and Photos at Pickup

On impounds, the plate and VIN are not optional. Year, make, model and color help the driver find the car. Plate and VIN make sure it is the right one and let the office answer the owner who calls asking whether you have their car.

Have drivers take vehicle photos at pickup in the driver app: all sides, any existing damage, and the location the car was taken from. Photos attach to the call. When an owner claims damage, the photos answer the question.

Note why the vehicle was towed and who requested it. Private property, a police request, an account, an abandoned vehicle: the reason and the requester go in the call notes. That is the first thing an angry owner asks, and the office should be able to answer without hunting for the driver.

The Storage Start Date and Daily Rate

Each impound or storage call carries a storage start date and a daily rate. The storage days are added to the invoice. That takes the guesswork out of the conversation when an owner comes to pick up the car. The office is not counting days on a calendar with a pen.

Set the start date accurately when the vehicle arrives. How storage days are counted and what rates are allowed vary by state and city, so set your rates and policies to match local requirements.

When a vehicle moves out of storage to a shop or another location, the release is part of the record too. Note when it left and who it went to, so the storage days end where they should and nobody bills for a car that is no longer in your yard.

Accounts That Request Impounds

Many impounds come from commercial accounts: property managers, police and municipal accounts, and sometimes dealers or other businesses. Put the call under the account, so the calls and invoices stay together. When the account asks how many vehicles you pulled last month, you can show them.

For property managers, keep the property as a location with access notes, such as gate codes and where to enter, so drivers can find their way at night.

Owners Calling for Their Car

The phone call from an owner looking for their car is common and often tense. The office can search for the call and confirm the vehicle details, when it was towed and where it is. The invoice can show tow charges plus storage days. The customer can pay online or in person.

Release requirements, such as proof of ownership and ID, vary by state and city. Make sure everyone who answers the phone knows your local rules and states them the same way every time.

When the owner arrives, the vehicle photos from pickup are worth showing. An owner who sees the car's condition at the moment it was hooked usually stops arguing about damage that was already there.

Keeping the Yard and the System in Sync

The biggest risk with storage is the system and the yard drifting apart: a car released but still showing in storage, or a car in the yard with no record. Review the storage calls regularly, close out vehicles that have left and make sure every vehicle in the yard has a call. The next guide covers the commercial accounts that send so many of these calls.

For how impound and storage calls fit with the rest of dispatch, visit the TowingBossPro tow dispatch software page.