KC405
06-12-2007, 03:57 PM
Its about the government steps in to stop these crooked towing companies:
TRENTON -- Lawmakers have taken the first step toward a comprehensive crackdown on excessive towing fees and "predatory" practices allegedly used by some tow-truck companies.
A bill approved by a state Assembly committee Thursday would target tows from private property, as opposed to police tows from public streets. Legislators drafted the bill after a rash of complaints last year from North Jersey towns where drivers were regularly charged $350 to $400. Others who reached their cars before they had been removed were charged $150 and $200 just to have their cars unhitched.
"This whole area of non-consensual tows is essentially the Wild West," said Assemblyman Robert Gordon, D-Fair Lawn, the main sponsor of the bill. "The towers can do what they want, and charge whatever they can extract, and they do."
The bill would establish a standard fee schedule and licensing process for all towing companies in the state, specify the placement and content of warning signs and require towers to accept credit cards. Fees that exceed 150 percent of an average in any given county would be considered excessive.
Regulators could assess fines for violation of the fee schedule and refuse to renew the registration of companies with a history of misconduct.
The law would also partially ban a practice sometimes known as "cruising," or "patrol towing," in which towers lie in wait for motorists and swoop in without being summoned by a specific complaint. The new law would stipulate that property owners must be present to sign off on individual tows during business hours.
"This is really a quality-of-life issue," said Gordon, who said he has fielded a steady flow of complaints from customers clutching what they feel are unreasonable bills.
"People are going into these restaurants, and five minutes later their car is gone. A person goes to the hairdresser five minutes beyond the permissible time and finds her car towed," he said.
Administration and enforcement of the bill would fall under the jurisdiction of the state Division of Consumer Affairs, with costs being covered by fines and licensing fees, lawmakers said.
Stephen Nolan, acting director of the division, testified Thursday that the state tallied almost 350 complaints between 2000 and 2005, including complaints about lack of signs and signs with no indication where cars are being taken or a consistent fee schedule.
New Jersey, if it takes action, will join a list of states, including California, New York and Virginia, that recently have instituted or are reviewing regulations of private-property tows.
No representatives from towing groups appeared Thursday, but the bill still could draw opposition, said Peter O'Connell, a lawyer representing the Towing and Recovery Association of America. O'Connell said standardized fees ignore geographic variation, and said the requirement that property owners sign off on tows also is impractical and could make it impossible for property owners to police their property.
The New Jersey bill will move before the Assembly for consideration for a vote this fall, and Gordon said he would seek a sponsor for a matching measure in the state
TRENTON -- Lawmakers have taken the first step toward a comprehensive crackdown on excessive towing fees and "predatory" practices allegedly used by some tow-truck companies.
A bill approved by a state Assembly committee Thursday would target tows from private property, as opposed to police tows from public streets. Legislators drafted the bill after a rash of complaints last year from North Jersey towns where drivers were regularly charged $350 to $400. Others who reached their cars before they had been removed were charged $150 and $200 just to have their cars unhitched.
"This whole area of non-consensual tows is essentially the Wild West," said Assemblyman Robert Gordon, D-Fair Lawn, the main sponsor of the bill. "The towers can do what they want, and charge whatever they can extract, and they do."
The bill would establish a standard fee schedule and licensing process for all towing companies in the state, specify the placement and content of warning signs and require towers to accept credit cards. Fees that exceed 150 percent of an average in any given county would be considered excessive.
Regulators could assess fines for violation of the fee schedule and refuse to renew the registration of companies with a history of misconduct.
The law would also partially ban a practice sometimes known as "cruising," or "patrol towing," in which towers lie in wait for motorists and swoop in without being summoned by a specific complaint. The new law would stipulate that property owners must be present to sign off on individual tows during business hours.
"This is really a quality-of-life issue," said Gordon, who said he has fielded a steady flow of complaints from customers clutching what they feel are unreasonable bills.
"People are going into these restaurants, and five minutes later their car is gone. A person goes to the hairdresser five minutes beyond the permissible time and finds her car towed," he said.
Administration and enforcement of the bill would fall under the jurisdiction of the state Division of Consumer Affairs, with costs being covered by fines and licensing fees, lawmakers said.
Stephen Nolan, acting director of the division, testified Thursday that the state tallied almost 350 complaints between 2000 and 2005, including complaints about lack of signs and signs with no indication where cars are being taken or a consistent fee schedule.
New Jersey, if it takes action, will join a list of states, including California, New York and Virginia, that recently have instituted or are reviewing regulations of private-property tows.
No representatives from towing groups appeared Thursday, but the bill still could draw opposition, said Peter O'Connell, a lawyer representing the Towing and Recovery Association of America. O'Connell said standardized fees ignore geographic variation, and said the requirement that property owners sign off on tows also is impractical and could make it impossible for property owners to police their property.
The New Jersey bill will move before the Assembly for consideration for a vote this fall, and Gordon said he would seek a sponsor for a matching measure in the state