Towing Westchester NY

[mee-chelle]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York

Sorry for the re-post it wouldn't let me edit my title.

I was not sure where to post this, but I have been searching high and low for laws pertaining to tow trucks for Westchester County in the state of New York, or even just for the state of New York. All I have been able to find are laws for New York City. I know that they have their own set of laws that may not pertain to me. I even called the DMV and they sent me a book that was supposed to help me, but it is just a manual on how to be a tow truck driver.

I ask this because I am suing a tow company by my house in small claims. I want to be prepared, but I can not find any information for the state of NY. I feel like knowing facts with improve my chances.

Some of the questions I have are: Must they accept at least one type of credit card (off thruway), do they have to have to have hours that are accessible to working people if they are charging sky high storage fees instead of just hours that are smack in the middle of a work day (8AM-5PM), is there a maximum amount they can charge for tow or storage from a public street (I know there are certain regulations in the city).

I don't even need someone to answer these questions. I don't mind doing the research, but a push in a direction to where I can find these answers would be extremely helpful.

It seems like it is easier to find tow laws for just about every state except NY.

[HighwayMan]

Tow trucks are usually regulated by the local consumer affairs agency.

I would check the phone book's "blue pages" (government listings) for Westchester County agencies and look up consumer affairs.

BTW, it's common to allow impounds to be picked up only during normal business hours. That much I know. There is also no general requirement that credit cards be accepted. It's up to the company. Some do not take credit cards because they've been burned by people getting their cars back and then canceling the charge.

Where were you towed from? (city/town/village) If you were towed off the street, then why? The local police department might also be involved, especially if was a parking violation. In that case the local police department can answer some of your questions.

Please provide some more details.

[HighwayMan]

Also, see if you can delete or at least lock your original thread so you get answers in only one place.

[mee-chelle]

I don't know how to delete or lock the post.

I did think of westchester gov today, so I think I will give them a call tomorrow. It was towed from the street because of construction. I know that NY thruway and NYC made it a law that tow trucks accept at least one major credit card so that was why I was wondering. I think it is unreasonable to request the sum of cash they wanted.

I found NJ had a mandatory hours of operation, so that is why I am asking these questions. It does not make sense to me that there are only hours in the middle of a work day when some people can't leave their job or they will loose it. In which case they slam you with storage fees. NJ has the right idea.

The police would probably be less than helpful in this matter since they didn't even want to release the car to me. It took me two days of fighting with them just to get the release paper. I am in charge of my fathers car who has cancer and was shipped to a hospital in another state. Although he was the one that parked the car in the original location that it was towed from.

[HighwayMan]

Don't blame the police.

If we impound a car we usually ONLY release it to the registered owner. In addition, some of the tow companies we deal with have stricter rules and require the title to the vehicle be presented and will release it only to the title holder.

Can you tell me where this is? The local police obviously have a contract with the tow company or use a rotation tow system. They can assist with your questions also. Some tow companies only operate during normal hours so it's unreasonable to have them stay open to accommodate you. Since they do business with the city/town/village the local police may be able to get the car released to you during non-traditional hours. I have done that for people under some circumstances. It might be worth a try.

[mee-chelle]

I already got the car back after it racked up four days of storage. So I have the car. I just wanted a place to find the tow laws and regulations so that I can be prepared for small claims.

These people were more than unreasonable. I got there literally two minutes before five and they were all there and claimed to be closed and charged me another day. I missed one and 1/2 days of work as a result. So they obviously had no intention of accommodating me.

I was talked down to and treated disgustingly. I kept my calm the whole time surprisingly. I mean I wanted to see if I could pin them with anything at all. That why I am looking for the towing laws here. I guess I will call westchester gov tomorrow. I still have four weeks until my court date.

In the end I guess I will just be satisfied with inconveniencing the guy by making him go to night court, after all he enjoyed inconveniencing me, stuck me with fees, took hours of my time, and I lost wages. All so I could help my dad out.

[mee-chelle]

Well i found a number to call and a contract for tow proposals for the county that covered my area. I am not sure if it applies to me because I wasn't with the vehicle at the time of the tow. However, if this is correct they charged me $5 more than the agreed amount per day for storage including the first 24 hours which they are not allowed to. $40 more than the contract with the town amount for tows, they did have to take credit card, and they had to be open until 6PM. There was a number to call for information and complaints at the bottom of the contract which is supposed to be for a five year agreement good until 2013. I will call it tomorrow. I hope this is what I wanted because then it proves that they were wrong and broke the agreement with the county.

[HighwayMan]

The contract is with the county or the town? What is a "contract for tow proposals"??

And is the town/village a secret? You still haven't answered me. I deal with a number of tow companies in Westchester for impounds and can maybe provide more information.

I agree, based on what you've said they seem to have treated you unreasonably. In addition to whatever legal action you take I would also make a complaint with the town/village and with the Westchester County Department of Consumer Protection.

[mee-chelle]

It turns out that the contract was just for highway tows. This is for the village of Port Chester in the Town of Rye. I called Public Saftey this morning, which referred me to Albany, which then couldn't help because they were highway only. I then went back and called Westchester gov. I later learned that there is virtually no protection for me against towing. No max charges, no mandatory hours (they could closed in the afternoon if they wanted), pretty much nothing according to the guy on the phone. At the same he claimed there is no literature, but he also didn't even know of the highway regulations and the towing bill of rights (I know that doesn't apply to me now). So I don't know how credible he is, but now I am left with nothing again.

I plan to go to the town meeting next month and complain about this. Hopefully something will be implemented. I never really cared about towing rules and regulations until now. After about a week of research I learned that westchester is one of the worst places to live if you are going to be towed off a street. In my search for any type of legal writing on the matter I found that most places at least acknowledge the fact that people might need to get their car after a work day or may not be carrying 200+ cash on them. The state of NY and NYC, albany, etc and most other states require a tow company to accept at least one major form of credit. Why not westchester? The whole being burned by someone disputing a charge is a risk every single business must take if they accept credit, why should tow companies alone have that exception and use it in their argument, and it is a flawed argument at that. The consumer guy told me that loosing 200+ was reasonable for four days of them having my car, but he failed to acknowledge that I lost more than that. They would not have had my car for four days, I lost one 1/2 day's of wages, 5 taxi fares, and a whole lot of time. And that is unreasonable. So all I am saying is that I hope to make some sort of change in the system. It is now my goal.

I am to the point where i am just considering keeping the small claims and not showing up. Just so I can at least inconvenience them like they did to me. I mean they were just awful or I wouldn't even be putting this much effort in.

Anything that I can pin on them would still be appreciated, but I think I have come to the realization that I won't really find anything.

I also find it funny that virtually no literature exists on towing consumer rights for westchester (because we have none?), but I can seemingly find some for every other place.

P.S. Sorry I did not realize that you asked for the name of the town.

[HighwayMan]

Did you call the county Department of Consumer Protection? What agency or department did you get in touch with?


What tow company is this? I have dealt with some in Port Chester. If you don't want to post it then you can message me.

I would still give small claims a shot. If you agree to have your case heard by an arbitrator you could get it over and done with in one night. And even if there are no regulations, as you claim, you could still win something. It's worth a try.

Also don't forget complaints to the BBB. Maybe even "Help Me Howard"!

[mee-chelle]

I don't see what BBB can do for me honestly. The Westchester consumer guy even pretty much said that they didn't nothing wrong. Because there are no regulations, then technically they didn't do anything wrong. This is just one of those times where it isn't really a matter of what is fair, but that they technically did nothing wrong legally. This is why I am going to the town meeting as stated in the my above post.

I do feel like small claims will be a waste of time now, because I have absolutely nothing to go on. Another thing the consumer protection officer agreed with. I can't just go in an complain about how unfair the system is. It is the judge's job to enforce existing rules and regulations. Penalize people who break them. Again because there is no law that says otherwise, the tow company technically did nothing wrong. That still doesn't mean they are right. Only way I can count on winning is by counting on their inability to act in a civil manner in court, or that they don't show eaither.

I still have three weeks to find something, but I don't think I will. If I go an loose will just inflate their ego even more.

[HighwayMan]

A complaint with the BBB does nothing for you, but it might help others - and it certainly can't be a positive thing for the tow company to have complaints on file with the BBB.

Just because they didn't violate any laws or regulations doesn't mean you can't get a judgment in small claims court.

For instance if you get statement from 4 other tow companies which say that they don't charge storage on the first day the judge/arbitrator might consider your tow company unreasonable in that regard.

I think it's worth a try if you want to invest a few hours. If they don't show you still have to present your case unless you want to give up at that point.

I think if you get info from several other tow companies and compare a judge/arbitrator might surprise you.

And in Small Claims judgment is usually reserved, which means they mail you the decision. That tends to eliminates fights and arguments in court.