While many towing companies worked hard to uplift the reputation of their business, the ill-effects caused by predatory companies are still of great concern. Overzealous tow truck drivers operating under the guise of protecting private parking lots have been reported to have unceremoniously towed vehicles of restaurant diners. As a result, restaurants tend to lose regular customers who have been victimized by parking confusions apparently instigated by predatory parking lot pirates.
While reputable towing firms cannot stop predatory towing from happening, they can at least warn owners of restaurants, diners, drugstores, grocery stores and similar businesses, about unconscionable towing activities that could drive away customers. These businesses should supplement customers with parking guidelines to help clear parking confusions, which are actually traps set by predatory towing crews preying on vehicle owners, usually elderly citizens.
Awareness about State Regulations and How Predatory Companies Circumvent Them
There are state laws that require putting up signs to indicate exclusivity of privately-owned parking lots. However some property owners do not pay attention to faded signs that have become obscure to be readily noticeable. In some cases, “towing enforced” signs to warn vehicle owners about unauthorized parking become partly hidden behind overgrown bushes.
While The US Department of Transportation published guidelines requiring proper documentations to support the legality of towing actions, many bad actors in the towing industry simply ignore this requisite. After all, some of their victims prefer not to legally pursue their complaints, especially if they don’t have the financial means to sustain legal battles that often take years to resolve.
During the 2020 pandemic lockdown, towing companies were among those allowed to continue to operate as essential business. Not primarily for parking lot protection but mainly for providing roadside assistance to transport vehicles of other essential business operators; such as the delivery trucks transporting basic products and supplies including agriproducts.
Still, there have been reported instances of predatory towing companies that quickly booted essential transport vehicles. They held hostage trucks filled with products for delivery, as soon as the driver stepped down and left the vehicle for a few minutes. Without any proof or documentation that parking rules have been violated, the parking pirates simply asserted that they were just doing their job.
Disseminating Information about Ethical Towing Services
Towing companies focused on providing assistance are into disseminating information to motorists who might encounter vehicle breakdown in a public road or highway. The purpose is to make a distinction of the ethical practices and services of principled towing companies from those that operate mainly for profit, regardless if the methods used are destroying the reputation of the towing industry as a whole. .
Why Should a Vehicle be Towed?
Towing is necessary when a vehicle malfunctions while needing intervention to remove it from its stalled condition on the side of the road or along the highway.
Customer-oriented towing truck operators will first help the vehicle owner by providing roadside assistance in case of minor problems, such as jumpstarting a car battery, refuelling the car, replacing deflated tires or even unlocking doors in cases where the owner inadvertently left the car keys inside.
Towing a vehicle is a last resort applicable to vehicles with major mechanical or engine troubles that require the specialized services of an auto repair shop. If the owner of the vehicle is from out of town and has no knowledge of a particular auto repair shop in the area, a reputable towing firm may know of reliable auto-fix shops to recommend. In most cases, an arrangement with the shop owner before the vehicle is delivered to the repair site to make certain that the latter will be able to attend to the vehicle’s problem.
To avoid getting in touch with unscrupulous providers of towing services, reputable firms recommend for motorists to research about reliable towing companies beforehand, especially those that can be accessed by way of mobile apps or through websites.