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TOWING = KICKBACKS?
By
Jan Bergemann
Published
June 7, 2013
Towing
is one of the most controversial issue in association life. And
many of the towing companies are using methods that are
criminal.
In
the last few years government agencies have been trying to crack
down on towing companies. County commissions created rules,
regulating towing to protect the car owners. Police has been
called many times with car owners reporting their car stolen.
The
Broward County Commission created a few months back new laws –
without much success. Towing companies are plainly ignoring the
new rules as described by the Sun Sentinel in the recent article
“Towing
abuses in Broward still rampant.”
Many
people say that TOWING
is the modern kind of “HIGHWAY
ROBBERY.” It sure is a very lucrative business –
with lots of money at stake. That’s why many tow truck drivers
ignore rules and regulations. The few fines levied for violating
the rules are quickly made up by towing a few more cars. It’s
often a cash business – and who really knows what actually
happened and where exactly the car was parked when towed.
In
associations it’s an often used method to “punish”
inconvenient owners – meaning owners who criticize board or
manager. And even for some board members and managers it’s a
great source of income, since towing companies pay great
kickbacks!
The
list of outrageous cases of towing and booting is endless. Here
are some cases that made the headlines and filled court dockets:
Company
Forced To Return Illegally-Towed Cars
Class
action suit filed against 'booting' company
Metrowest
residents outraged at HOA
Apopka
HOA Towing Residents’ Cars For Parking On Own Grass
Many
car owners just pay in order to get their cars back as fast as
possible, but some owners of towed cars are so outraged that
they are willing to go to court over it. And that’s when it
gets really expensive – not always for the car owners. Some
associations find out that they don’t even have the power to
have cars towed – and order the tow truck anyway.
Other
associations have been known to claim that towing is necessary
to get cars out of the way that would block the way for
emergency vehicles, but on the other hand “forget” to
created fast passage for emergency vehicles through the closed
automatic gates.
Towing
is pretty often used to show some lowly owners what powers
managers and board members have. Imagine the surprise when you
wake up in the morning and can’t find your car that was parked
in your own drive-way?
What
say you? Is towing a good measure to teach unruly car owners
that they can’t just park wherever they feel like it – or is
it a way to show some “disgruntled” owners that
contradicting board and management comes with a steep price?
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