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Thursday, November 05, 2015

House proposal aims to put the brakes on predatory towing

The House approved a measure Wednesday that aims to curb predatory towing practices by giving state and local governments authority to regulate the towing industry.

The proposal passed as an amendment to the House transportation bill, which provides federal funding for state and local projects and is expected to pass this week. Reps. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD.), who pushed the measure, had introduced a standalone bill earlier this year, saying local governments should have the power to pass their own regulations of the towing industry.

“Predatory towing practices harm consumers and can lead to real financial pain,” Van Hollen said in a statement. “Local communities should be able to address consumer complaints and crack down on companies that engage in abusive towing practices, and this amendment will give them back that authority.”

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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Terrible idea that will lend itself to all sorts of issues.95% of those who have their vehicles towed have already abused their financial status.Now the towing companies will held responsible for problems that they had nothing to do with.Why are we always looking for someone else to blame for the problems that we have brought upon ourselves?

Anonymous said...

someone should check into Careys towing in laurel. talk about a racket. they have deals with every town, restuarant, and business in a 30 mile radius.

Anonymous said...

2:58 where does this say anything about repos this has to do with tow co just coming and towing your veh and charging you outlandish amount of money to get you car back has nothing to do with their financial status.
it regulating the towing so they cant stick you with a bill from Hell

towjam said...

Maryland already has pretty strict laws regarding private property impounding, including set rates, hours of reclamation, types of payment accepted, sign sizes with specific wording, photographic evidence, written authorization....you name it, theyve legislated it to death.

Anonymous said...

another situation where big companies trying to control the little guy...maybe if they spend their time trying to regulate health care costs and medicine cost everyone would be better off!!!

Anonymous said...

This makes me wonder how many times Van Hollen has gotten towed in DC. That's probably what this is about.

Anonymous said...

Towing companies replace common sense.They regulate where we park and insure we won't block other cars in any given parking lot.They get our vehicles when we're behind on our payments and take our vehicles to the impound lot when we get a DUI or have an accident.The very existence of towing companies proves that they are a much needed service.In an ideal world they wouldn't be necessary.

Anonymous said...

That dope that Ocean City calls the city solicitor needs to learn the MD towing law. Though I don't think he's capable of learning. He can barely string a sentence together.
Why the OC officials put up with this clown is a mystery though I heard some of them speak and they can't possible strike anyone as having even the slightest bit of intelligence.
Not only does that clown who thinks he's a lawyer sound like an imbecile the moron has cost the city so much with his lack of legal knowledge.

Anonymous said...

There was a lot of predatory towing going on pre laws that were passed in Maryland a few years ago. Some people like in Baltimore made careers out of it. They would sit in their apartment complexes and as soon as someone pulled up, like a guest of a resident they would call for a tow. This was occurring even in places without assigned spaces. The tow companies would then give them kickbacks for calling them. Now only the owner of the property or their assigned representative can have a vehicle towed off a property.