Tow truck scam in apartments off westheimer

I was told by my friend to park in the “visitors parking” . I was there less than 20 minutes. When I returned, my car was gone. There were no clear signs saying no parking. It literally said “visitors 24 hr parking” on the ground where I parked. I thought my car was stolen . I called the number that was posted on the other side of the parking lot which had lots of parking spaces . The people said there is a website that visitors must register at otherwise they will be towed. But the friend I visited never got the website from the apartment complex , and never was notified when they would be enforcing this . I have filed a complaint with TLDR . I tried calling the police to make a report but they gave me the runaround . Do you think I can win a case with the Justice of the Peace , and does anyone have any similar stories regarding these immoral tow truckers ? They quoted me 285$ to get it out of the impound. How can this be legal?