WASHINGTON — Despite a recently passed bill aimed at reducing predatory towing in Montgomery County, the practice is ongoing and towing companies are vowing to fight any changes, NBC Washington reports.
The county council unanimously approved the bill last week, tightening rules surrounding towing.
The measure prohibits the use of “spotters” who sit and watch parking lots, looking for illegally parked vehicles. The bill also forces towing companies to take photographs of the parking violation and to get written authorization from the property owner for each tow.
Predatory towing has been against the rules in Maryland for some time, but that has not stopped some of the more aggressive companies.
“It’s not legal now; it wasn’t legal 20 years ago and it won’t be legal when the new law takes effect, and the tower knows that,” Eric Friedman, director of the county’s Office of Consumer Protection, NBC Washington.
County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett is set to sign the bill into law this week; it would not take effect until later this year.
“In our judgment it’s gotten totally out of whack,” County Council member Roger Berliner told NBC Washington. He says 30,000 vehicles have been towed off private property in Montgomery County over the past year.
