Updated at 4:45 p.m. — A new county law would combat predatory towing by outlawing the use of “spotters” from tow truck companies and tows that happen in the middle of the night without a property owner’s permission.
The legislation, introduced Tuesday by Councilmember Roger Berliner, would make it harder for tow truck companies to haul off vehicles they deem are parked illegally in private commercial parking lots.
There are between 30,000 and 40,000 trespass tows a year in Montgomery County and downtown Bethesda is among the more popular spots to find one, according to Eric Friedman, the director of the county’s Office of Consumer Protection.
The average cost to reclaim a towed vehicle is $168, not counting the time and effort it takes to get to the impound lot, which must be in Montgomery County no farther than 12 miles from the spot of the tow.
Friedman has been talking about the issue for years, appearing on national news programs and working with Berliner to craft the bill. A state law made Montgomery County’s ability to operate on its own more difficult with regards to trespass towing rules. There’s also a federal preemption issue that hinders the ability of local governments to establish their own guidelines.
But the bill introduced Tuesday would address many issues associated with what Friedman has labeled predatory towing — tows that are technically legal but seem unreasonable and that county officials say can hurt businesses districts.
The bill would outlaw the use of spotters, tow truck employees known to watch private parking lots for drivers who park and then walk off to another store or property.
In November, a tipster sent BethesdaNow.com photos of tow truck drivers from G&G Towing who appeared to be watching the Connor Building lot from a parking garage across the street.
The lot is a place well-known for its high frequency of vehicle tows. In one of the photos, the men can be seen looking at the lot while their tow trucks are parked in spots nearby.
In April 2014, G&G successfully challenged parts of a 2012 state law that outlawed the use of spotters. The company claimed that requiring tow truck drivers to take photos of walk-off customers before towing (as the state law did) while also banning spotters was unreasonable and a violation of the 14th Amendment.
The bill Berliner introduced Tuesday would require photographic evidence of an illegally parked car.
“Perhaps the most vital of these is a prohibition on the use of spotters, individuals employed by towing companies whose primary job is to identify a car to be towed and then to call in the tow truck as quickly as possible,” Berliner wrote in a memo. “With this legislation, there will be an end to this unscrupulous business practice.”
The bill would also require the property owner, not the towing company, to maintain the towing log and get rid of an exception in the law that allows a tow to happen between 2 a.m. and 9 a.m. when a business is closed and without the property owner’s permission.
It would also give investigators from the Office of Consumer Protection the ability to order the release of a vehicle and to subpoena individuals when investigating towing complaints. The county executive would be able to set a flat rate for vehicle tows instead of the current mileage-based rate.
In his memo introducing the bill, Berliner said he’s heard from residents across the county who have “been abused” by predatory towing practices.
“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 wrote. “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.
“Predatory towing is a consumer protection issue, an economic development issue, and a public safety issue,” he continued. “We can and must do more to address towing abuses in this county. This legislation helps to do exactly that.”
