Tow Trucks Warning to all NYC drivers
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From: Queens, NY
Tow Trucks Warning to all NYC drivers
Found this on another forum and thought it might be some useful info.. I myself was in a similar situation a while back, sucks that i was not aware of the following.
"The following is for anyone who drives in New York City, its residents and our visitors
We have all seen them at private parking lots all over the city. Tow trucks hitching up cars and those signs on the wall that say:
"ghetto tow co"
555 anywhere street
718-555-5555
123 fake street brooklyn, NY
$100 + daily storage fee.
These tow truck drivers are the biggest scammers in the world they hitch up cars and when the owner/operator of the car arrive they say "give me $200 bucks and ill drop the car or im taking it to the yard" then you ask yourself... are there rules that these SOBS must abide by??? I have some laws and rules that these bastards MUST follow. I have printed the below out and given them to my friends and family to keep in their glovebox in the event they either find their car hitched or already towed away. This ONLY applies to New York City, other counties have similar but slightly different rules.
Scenairo: You park at a lot, you get back, your car is hitched, you think about pulling your gun out and wasting this SOB but notice there are people and cameras around (and its against the law just in case you forgot). First thing you do is, tell the guy its your car, i guarantee you 99% of the time the guy is going to tell you this "you cant park here and go there, $100 (or more) and i'll put it down," you then say "lemme see what I have in the glovebox (go and get the printout of the below), get the rules, and negotiate, if the SOB dosent abide the law, call the cops. Go down one at a time until you hit a point where the tow truck driver is in violation then call the cops. These guys DO steal cars so be aware that is what may be happening to you.
Make yourself a copy of this and keep it in the glovebox (you can always access your car and retrieve it whether its on the tow truck or at the tow lot). Give a copy to your friends and family, Knowledge is power. Print out the below and you can always give it to the police to research the Admin Codes, if they have any questions as to the local law.
Tow information
1) Check out the tow truck, Does he have a DCA Licence number?
If not he cannot legally tow in NYC, if he dosent have one call the police right away.
2) Look around the Lot for the sign.
The sign with the tow companies' name, address, phone number, fees, and conditions MUST BE displayed. Does the tow truck's information match the information on the sign? is there a sign? if the info dosent match and/or there is no sign CALL THE POLICE.
3) Look and ask around for the manager or owner of the store that the lot belongs to.
Tow truck companies are NOT supposed to look for violators, their purpose is to strictly RESPOND to calls from a manager or owner. A manager is supposed to call the tow company, give a description of the vehicle to be towed (eg. Black, Volks, licence plate NY: ABC 1234). The tow truck driver MUST have this in writing AND the manager or owner MUST be there on the scene. If not CALL THE POLICE (Administrative Code: Section 19-169.1(c)) (the reason why a owner must call and the company have information in writing is this, a tow truck driver sees a car and decides to steal it. The tow driver takes the car to a junkyard and sells it for $1000 bucks in scrap metal. Who has any idea what happened to the car?)
4) A vehicle cannot be removed if it is occupied by anyone in ANY seat (Admin code: Section 19-169.1(d)). The tow drivers know this.
5) The vehicle must be taken directly to a storage facility that is located within city limits and isnt more than 10 miles away from the tow location.
If you find your car around the corner with a boot on it or on another tow truck CALL THE POLICE and tell them Section 19-169.1(e) of the Admin code states The vehicle must be taken directly to a storage facility that is located within city limits and isnt more than 10 miles away from the tow location
6) The tow company must notify the precinct where the car was towed from within 30 min. of the vehicle's arrival at the tow garage 1) a full description of the car 2) where the car is towed to and 3) who authorized the tow.
Now the charges:
1) If you are towed and you go to the lot to pick up your car check the above 1-6 and see that they have all the proper information (more importantly, ask to see the parking lot owner/manager's written authorization to have the car towed, if they dont have it call the cops to the tow yard). If everything is in order and they are actually legit, they CANT charge you more than $100 for the actual removal of the car and the first 3 days of storage, after 3 days they can charge NO MORE than $10 per day.
2) They MUST have the option to accept credit card as payment.
3) If you arrive at the lot to see your car on the hitch and you inform the driver that you are the owner of the car he is allowed to charge NO MORE than $50 bucks and MUST release the auto on the spot.
4) The owner has the right to inspect the auto upon its return. The owner is NOT required to sign any release/waiver which would release the tow company from any liability. They cannot say, "if you dont sign I wont give you the car"
This DOES NOT APPLY to NYPD Traffic Tow Trucks."
You were warned
"The following is for anyone who drives in New York City, its residents and our visitors
We have all seen them at private parking lots all over the city. Tow trucks hitching up cars and those signs on the wall that say:
"ghetto tow co"
555 anywhere street
718-555-5555
123 fake street brooklyn, NY
$100 + daily storage fee.
These tow truck drivers are the biggest scammers in the world they hitch up cars and when the owner/operator of the car arrive they say "give me $200 bucks and ill drop the car or im taking it to the yard" then you ask yourself... are there rules that these SOBS must abide by??? I have some laws and rules that these bastards MUST follow. I have printed the below out and given them to my friends and family to keep in their glovebox in the event they either find their car hitched or already towed away. This ONLY applies to New York City, other counties have similar but slightly different rules.
Scenairo: You park at a lot, you get back, your car is hitched, you think about pulling your gun out and wasting this SOB but notice there are people and cameras around (and its against the law just in case you forgot). First thing you do is, tell the guy its your car, i guarantee you 99% of the time the guy is going to tell you this "you cant park here and go there, $100 (or more) and i'll put it down," you then say "lemme see what I have in the glovebox (go and get the printout of the below), get the rules, and negotiate, if the SOB dosent abide the law, call the cops. Go down one at a time until you hit a point where the tow truck driver is in violation then call the cops. These guys DO steal cars so be aware that is what may be happening to you.
Make yourself a copy of this and keep it in the glovebox (you can always access your car and retrieve it whether its on the tow truck or at the tow lot). Give a copy to your friends and family, Knowledge is power. Print out the below and you can always give it to the police to research the Admin Codes, if they have any questions as to the local law.
Tow information
1) Check out the tow truck, Does he have a DCA Licence number?
If not he cannot legally tow in NYC, if he dosent have one call the police right away.
2) Look around the Lot for the sign.
The sign with the tow companies' name, address, phone number, fees, and conditions MUST BE displayed. Does the tow truck's information match the information on the sign? is there a sign? if the info dosent match and/or there is no sign CALL THE POLICE.
3) Look and ask around for the manager or owner of the store that the lot belongs to.
Tow truck companies are NOT supposed to look for violators, their purpose is to strictly RESPOND to calls from a manager or owner. A manager is supposed to call the tow company, give a description of the vehicle to be towed (eg. Black, Volks, licence plate NY: ABC 1234). The tow truck driver MUST have this in writing AND the manager or owner MUST be there on the scene. If not CALL THE POLICE (Administrative Code: Section 19-169.1(c)) (the reason why a owner must call and the company have information in writing is this, a tow truck driver sees a car and decides to steal it. The tow driver takes the car to a junkyard and sells it for $1000 bucks in scrap metal. Who has any idea what happened to the car?)
4) A vehicle cannot be removed if it is occupied by anyone in ANY seat (Admin code: Section 19-169.1(d)). The tow drivers know this.
5) The vehicle must be taken directly to a storage facility that is located within city limits and isnt more than 10 miles away from the tow location.
If you find your car around the corner with a boot on it or on another tow truck CALL THE POLICE and tell them Section 19-169.1(e) of the Admin code states The vehicle must be taken directly to a storage facility that is located within city limits and isnt more than 10 miles away from the tow location
6) The tow company must notify the precinct where the car was towed from within 30 min. of the vehicle's arrival at the tow garage 1) a full description of the car 2) where the car is towed to and 3) who authorized the tow.
Now the charges:
1) If you are towed and you go to the lot to pick up your car check the above 1-6 and see that they have all the proper information (more importantly, ask to see the parking lot owner/manager's written authorization to have the car towed, if they dont have it call the cops to the tow yard). If everything is in order and they are actually legit, they CANT charge you more than $100 for the actual removal of the car and the first 3 days of storage, after 3 days they can charge NO MORE than $10 per day.
2) They MUST have the option to accept credit card as payment.
3) If you arrive at the lot to see your car on the hitch and you inform the driver that you are the owner of the car he is allowed to charge NO MORE than $50 bucks and MUST release the auto on the spot.
4) The owner has the right to inspect the auto upon its return. The owner is NOT required to sign any release/waiver which would release the tow company from any liability. They cannot say, "if you dont sign I wont give you the car"
This DOES NOT APPLY to NYPD Traffic Tow Trucks."
You were warned
Pole Position
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 201
Likes: 0
From: Queens nyc
i was ina bayterrace parked illiegally and i had my e-brake up facing a wall
and the toe truck guy said good thing you had that ebrake up or it woulda cost you 300 to get ur car back i told him to suck my d&#|< =) and drove
off ...so know when i park and im unsure i just pull the ebrake up anyone had a similiar situation?
and the toe truck guy said good thing you had that ebrake up or it woulda cost you 300 to get ur car back i told him to suck my d&#|< =) and drove
off ...so know when i park and im unsure i just pull the ebrake up anyone had a similiar situation?
LOL. This is NYC...We all know how long it takes NYPD to respond to the scene
You can recite this like George Washington sailing in the Delaware, and they will still tow your car. Good find none the less
You can recite this like George Washington sailing in the Delaware, and they will still tow your car. Good find none the less
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