ROCKVILLE, Md. — Montgomery County Council member Roger Berliner has introduced a bill to end predatory towing practices, which he says make up the top consumer complaint among residents.
“These companies employ spotters to keep an eye on you and where you go. The spotter calls the towing company and tells them, ‘Get ’em,’ and it happens in two or three minutes after you park your car,” says Berliner. “ It drives people crazy – people in downcounty, upcounty, midcounty and east county.”
The bill would outlaw these spotters, which Berliner calls an “unscrupulous business practice.” His bill also would require photographic evidence of a violation that necessitated the tow.
Property owners would be required to keep a written log of all the cars towed from their lots. The bill also would eliminate an exemption in Montgomery County law that allows vehicles to be towed between 2 a.m. and 9 a.m. without the property owner’s authorization.
“One resident parking at the Bank of Georgetown in Friendship Heights on a weekend had his car towed, despite the fact that the bank had no contract with a towing company,” Berliner says. “A father and daughter had their car towed at a shopping center while the daughter was shopping there, simply because the father had walked off to another store.”
These and other individuals who have their cars towed, have to pay, on average, $168 just to get their cars back from the towing companies. Also, they have to pay for storage fees if it takes them a day or two to reclaim the vehicle, Berliner says.
“[It’s] not just bad for consumers, predatory towing is bad for business, too. People are reluctant to shop in areas where they fear being towed,” adds Berliner.
With business owners and the County Office of Consumer Protection on board, Berliner said he believes the bill will pass without much resistance.
“Without trying to line up my colleagues in advance, immediately eight hands went up for co-sponsors,” he says.
Berliner says he wants to put an end to the towing companies’ predatory ways.
“These tow companies have decided it’s a good way to make money. They’ve found ways to rip off of the public, and we have to step in and say that you can’t do that,” he adds.
The Committee on Public Safety will hold a hearing on the bill on June 16 at 7:30 p.m.
