County Trying to Protect Against "Predatory" Towing in Wheaton's Downtown

Faced with complaints about cars being towed off private parking lots in Wheaton's business district, officials are trying to coordinate a meeting with citizens, property owners, police and towing company owners and operators to clarify the rules governing the practice. 

At issue is "trespass towing" -  when a car is towed from the parking lot of a private business -- say a strip mall -- when a driver parks there and, at some point, "walks off" to patronize a shop that's not served by that lot.  

It happens frequently in congested areas like Wheaton or Bethesda -- two areas that generate complaints to Montgomery County's Office of Consumer Protection

Customers often run errands at stores served by one lot and then, instead of driving across the street or around the corner, walks the short distance to another shop that's not served by that lot before walking back to retrieve their vehicle. 

While such action may seem reasonable, it also may be in violation of that lot's parking rules. And a tow truck company hired by the property owner to tow vehicles that are illegally parked, can tow once they get authorization from the owner or their agent. In some cases -- such as when a vehicle is blocking a fire lane, or parked in handicapped spot without a visible permit, or parked in the early morning hours after 2 a.m., authorization is not required. 

"Most towing is quite legitimate," said Natalie Cantor, who runs the Mid-County Services center in Wheaton for the county executive's office. "What we're talking about are things that are outside of the boundaries of the county code." 

Predatory towing includes tow trucks  hauling off cars without prior authorization, or signs meant to describe towing rules are either confusing or non-existent. She said multi-cultural Wheaton also needs signs in both English and Spanish, and that citizens need to understand their rights if they believe they were towed unfairly. 

"We are amazed, it's our number one category of complaints for the office," said Eric S. Friedman, director of the county's Office of Consumer Protection.

Towing complaints outnumber those about home sales, automobile repairs, or other transactions, he said, and include improper signage in parking lots; cars being damaged while towed; items being stolen from towed cars; improper charges or customers being forced, illegally, to pay in cash; and cars being towed to lots that were hard to find or unsafe. 

In 2010, the office received 149 complaints about trespass towing. Another 50 complaints came in during the first four months of 2011. That is out of thousands of trespass and other tows performed each month. A March 2011 towing report, compiled by county police, logged over 5,200 police-ordered and trespass tows - the report ran over over 70 pages. 

Friedman said that while some drivers may be deliberately violating parking rules when they are towed, others are probably unaware that they are doing something wrong because they either don't know the rules or don't see any clear signs. He believes the practice of a tow truck driver watching a driver walk off a lot and then immediately towing the car -- instead of warning the driver that they are at risk of towing -- flies in the face of good citizenship. 

"They swoop down," he said. "It runs afoul of every (positive) factor of human nature. If you see me drop my wallet, you come after me and say, `Hey, here's your wallet, you dropped it'.  They see you walking off the lot, they let you walk off the lot. And they take your car." 

Fred Scheler, owner of Henry's Wrecker Service, which has 200 trucks and 18 locations throughout Maryland and Virginia, stressed the very small percentage of trespass tows that have been the subject of complaints. His company, for instance, was the subject of 42 complaints over 16 months, out of thousands of tows performed. Henry's performs between 500 to 750 trespass tows alone each month in Montgomery County. 

Scheler, who has advised Fairfax, Arlington and Prince Georges counties on rewriting towing codes, said his drivers are required to read and study the codes that regulate towing in the jurisdictions they operate. He tells his drivers that, if they're unsure about towing in a particular trespass situation, to leave the car, and has towed back cars for free and refunded customers' money with proof that they were towed in error.

But Scheler also argued that trespass towing is necessary, not only to ensure that building entrances, fire lanes and other essential roads and areas remain clear but because small businesses with limited parking count on customers quickly parking, conducting their business, and moving out so that other customers can do the same. 

"They depend on quick turnover and open spaces," he said. 

Cantor said she, Friedman and others are trying to organize a meeting within the next month or so to address confusion and concerns regarding the practice in Wheaton, which seems to be concentrated in certain areas, including along Georgia Avenue between Reedie and Price Avenues and in the Wheaton Triangle parking lot. 

"In the long-term, when people are towed, they don't come back to the area," she said. "And in an area where we are really trying to create redevelopment and a vital atmosphere where people want to come, that is not the reputation we want."