Upwards of $170+ dollars in Charleston. How could this be??? I can understand $50, even $75, but $170? Wow, which one of the tow truck companies bought off a local council member to get these rates?
Granted, if you are towed by choice (i.e. you are broken down and you call a tow truck company), they should charge any rate they want. As a consumer, you can shop around and find a better rate. But when they tow you non-consequentially, the city allows them to charge you $170+??? Wow, that’s pretty criminal…
City of Charleston Ordinance Sec. 19-400. -
Maximum charge for nonconsensual tow.
(a)
The maximum rate that may be charged for a nonconsensual tow of a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than ten thousand (10,000) pounds shall be no more than one hundred fifty (150) per cent of the city’s most recent franchise towing fee for towing on city streets, which shall include charges for all services rendered including, but not limited to, hookup fees, gate fees, and all other services rendered in performing such private property tow, except as stated elsewhere in this section.
(b)
If the owner, authorized operator, or authorized agent of the owner of a motor vehicle which is parked without authorization on private property attempts to retrieve said vehicle before removal of the motor vehicle from said private property, the maximum release fee (drop charge) shall not exceed fifty per cent (50) of the maximum fee allowed in subsection (a) above. In such circumstances, the owner, authorized operator, or authorized agent of the owner of a motor vehicle so parked may offer payment of the towing carrier’s drop charge, and if so offered before removal of the motor vehicle to be towed, the towing carrier shall immediately accept such payment and immediately thereafter deliver the motor vehicle without further transportation or handling.
(c)
If dollies are required and used to perform a nonconsensual tow, the maximum additional amount that may be charged shall be ten dollars ($10.00).
(d)
The maximum storage amount that may be charged for a vehicle that has been towed as a result of a nonconsensual tow and that has remained on the tow lot for more than two (2) hours shall be no more than six dollars ($6.00) for the first twenty four hour period and fifteen dollars ($15.00) during any twenty-four (24) hour period of storage after the vehicle has been on the lot for the first twenty-four (24) hours.
(e)
A fee in an amount not to exceed ten dollars ($10.0
i got hit way harder than that in houston. they didnt want to discuss the 75 dollar “storage fee” even though i could see my vehicle was still on the tow truck.
Daughter had a bad wreck a couple of years ago in front of my parents house. Tommie’s Auto Diesel was on rotation, Wrecker would not unload truck even after highway patrol told me it was ok. Went ahead and had them drop it off at my house after big argument NOT to take it to their holding yard. Cost me $280 bucks to tow .2 of a mile. From what I understand that is the the maximum fee they are allowed to charge from 2 feet to 20 miles in Colleton county.
Crazy stuff. They didn’t have to charge me that, but by law were able to. That was Tommie’s Auto Diesel. I’ll take Wood Brother’s, Gerald’s, or McClure’s any day. Nate Bristow got me once, never again. I understand it costs money to run a business, but that was highway robbery for 30min of work.
Find a payphone and have the towing company “come get” your car that is broken down out at the Ocean Course.
Knew someone in college that would do that when his car would get towed. They used to be ruthless around the college.
Daughter had a bad wreck a couple of years ago in front of my parents house. Tommie’s Auto Diesel was on rotation, Wrecker would not unload truck even after highway patrol told me it was ok. Went ahead and had them drop it off at my house after big argument NOT to take it to their holding yard. Cost me $280 bucks to tow .2 of a mile. From what I understand that is the the maximum fee they are allowed to charge from 2 feet to 20 miles in Colleton county.
Crazy stuff. They didn’t have to charge me that, but by law were able to. That was Tommie’s Auto Diesel. I’ll take Wood Brother’s, Gerald’s, or McClure’s any day. Nate Bristow got me once, never again. I understand it costs money to run a business, but that was highway robbery for 30min of work.
Exactly. $280 is a whole week's worth of work for someone on minimum wage. I won't mention the name of the tow truck company that got me in Charleston, but in the end, I found a loophole that required me to pay $0. They weren't happy about it, but that's their problem. I thought it was pretty absurd though that they tried to charge me $170.
It would be nice to find a council person to bring this back up and implement some sort of law that put’s a known fixed dollar amount on a tow. I think $75 is reasonable. This is for non-consensual tow where you don’t have a choice. If they want to charge more than that, then they can charge the person that gave them authorization to tow you in the first place.
Also, if one of you ever get’s towed, let me know. I can give you some pointers that might get you out for free!!!
I remember when Walterboro was bigger than beaufort and Summerville and the common way to tow was find a payphone and get a relative or friend with a rope to come get you.
I also remember going down Dorchester on a single lane with NO traffic. All of a sudden North Woods Mall went up…
We are in Asheville for the fall foliage, signs all over the city $250 towing charge plus $40 a day storage for non consensual towing. I guess our rates in Charleston are reasonable in comparison.
People will forget what you said…
People will forget what you did…
But people will never forget how you made them feel.
Don’t get a DUI in GA. The towing fee will be about $275-300 plus $50-75 a day for storage. If you are broke down you can call a tow truck for about $75 for 20 miles. If the police call for a tow, it will cost $400 minimum to get your truck back. Cash only. No CC, no checks.
I’ve got no idea about a maximum fee law, but do know that voluntary towing is much cheaper than involuntary.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
I’ve just got to ask, why do you park in places where they will tow your truck? Sort of like poking the bear
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
In this particular instance, we parked in a parking lot at a shopping center. I met my wife out to dinner and she had the baby with her. She had a couple glasses of wine and we decided it was best if I just drove everyone home and we go back to get her car in the morning. I didn't see any signs that said "no overnight parking", but after the incident happened, I went looking for them and they were actually in a very inconspicuous place that was not visible from where I parked.
Evidently, there is some douchebag who works at one of the stores in the shopping center and he get’s a boner by getting to the store at 5:00 and calling the tow truck company to haul out people’s cars. The racket has been going on for quite some time. My car was towed at 5:32am.
So yes, by letter of the law, I was in the wrong… However, I was a bit smarter than the tow truck company and by the time I was finished having my discussion with them, they begged me to leave their office and gave me a full refund. You guys have seen my persistence on the internet. For those that know me, they know that I don’t tone it down in person.
