North Carolina lawmakers say they'll revive legislation aimed at cracking down on predatory towing after hearing new complaints from Charlotte residents who say they were hit with excessive fees for booting and towing.
At a Thursday news conference at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, Sen. Caleb Theodros said the proposal is aimed at a small number of towing companies that abuse consumers.
"This is about a small number of bad actors, and when they break the rules, almost nothing happens," Theodros said. He added that complaints aren't limited to Charlotte. "There are stories from Raleigh, Greensboro, Fayetteville, and from small towns where there is only one operator and no recourse at all."
Business owner Yazan Humaideh, owner of SIP City in Plaza Midwood, told reporters he recently parked outside a private office above Insomnia Cookies on Central Avenue while conducting business. When he returned, he said a tow company employee had already placed a boot on his vehicle.
Humaideh said he offered to show proof that he had been doing business there, but the worker became hostile and demanded $275 to remove the boot.
"I'll show you a bill of sale. Give me one second," Humaideh recalled telling the worker. Instead, he said, the employee cursed at him and warned that "the more I argue, the more the price is going to go up."
He said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police told him they couldn't intervene, and after a lengthy argument, the worker eventually removed the boot without payment.
Another Charlotte resident, Charles Osborne, said his truck was towed from his Dilworth apartment complex after the leasing office mistakenly issued him the wrong parking permit. He said he was charged $1,180 to recover the truck after it was towed less than five miles.
"A reasonable fine — $100, $250 — I get that," Osborne said. "But $1,180 for towing a vehicle less than five miles away is unacceptable."
Currently, there is no statewide limit for what towing companies can charge in North Carolina.
State Rep. Laura Budd, D-Mecklenburg, said she'll refile a towing reform bill when the General Assembly reconvenes in January. A similar proposal advanced through the legislature this year before lawmakers stripped out all of its towing provisions and replaced them with unrelated legislation.
WFAE's Nick de la Canal spoke with Budd after Thursday's news conference.
Nick de la Canal: Walk us through your proposal. What are some of the biggest changes that you're calling for?
Rep. Laura Budd: The first thing we're doing is, if you are towing — the individual, not the company, but the individual — you are required to apply for and get a permit to tow. And that permit is then used as an identifier every time you tow a vehicle, whether it is a Toyota Corolla or an 18-wheeler.
De la Canal: We've heard from drivers and business owners talking about really high fees for towing or booting. How does your legislation address that?
Budd: One of the ways that we have looked to address it without tying the hands of our towing industry — we don't want to tie their hands in what they can charge, but we do need to make sure we get rid of the predatory pricing piece.
So what we've done is implement two things. One is a signage requirement that requires the amount to be charged be placed on the sign. If you put $250 on that sign, it is $250.
The next piece is a database that every tow is loaded into with the make, model, VIN, reason for the tow and the price to be charged for the tow. That, we hope, will help place some guardrails on the pricing piece.
If a consumer finds it unreasonable, they can go to arbitration that's binding, and the arbitrator will decide what the reasonable price was for that tow.
De la Canal: Years ago, the city of Charlotte implemented an ordinance that actually capped towing fees. Is a cap on prices part of the legislation?
Budd: It is not, primarily because the legislature moves at a glacial pace when it moves at all, but also because of the disparity between rural, suburban, ex-urban areas. We don't want to put a maximum price on something that might be way too low in the city of Charlotte, given the cost of living and running a business, but way too high in the mountains or down east.
De la Canal: North Carolina lawmakers have been trying to address predatory towing for several years now. A similar reform effort that you filed this year didn't make it across the finish line. What do you think is different about this time?
Budd: That is a loaded question.
It didn't cross the finish line because, unfortunately, with good legislation — not just the predatory towing bill, but other pieces — it becomes a victim of horse trading. "What can you do for me?"
My hope is that come November, the election results will bring some balance — a measure of sanity — back into the General Assembly in Raleigh. I don't want to disparage my colleagues, but the reality is the victims are North Carolinians when we can't get something done, everything from the budget to predatory towing.
De la Canal: Some towing companies have told WFAE they support cracking down on bad actors, but they also worry about regulations making it harder to run their businesses. How do you balance protecting consumers without unfairly burdening towing companies that are reputable?
Budd: That's a fair analysis.
One of the things I did in light of the concerns brought to me by the Towing and Recovery Association of North Carolina — I'm not a tow truck driver. I do not have a commercial driver's license. I have had my car towed before, though.
I had to learn from the industry so I could craft legislation to run through them. And they have valid concerns. They want to get rid of the predatory (practices), but the worry is, "We don't need that," right? Lawful tow companies don't need that. They're not doing anything wrong. That's why there's a board involved, and it's not just legislation.
De la Canal: What happens from here? Are you hearing support from other lawmakers? And what's your outlook for getting this passed?
Budd: There is a lot of momentum behind it. I think there was an incredible level of disappointment in the House and Senate, on both sides of the aisle, that this didn't get where it needed to go this year.
I'm optimistic about next year. The plan is to file it within the first week or so that we open session for bill filing. The idea is if we can get this across the finish line, we have actually done something for North Carolina that is helpful.
