Tow companies are like payday lenders: they fill a necessary economic role, but without regulation they end up being parasites that extract huge profits from those least able to pay. Every time I see the army of Lincoln Towing trucks lined up on Cherry street at 2:55pm -- ostensibly to clear an extra lane but actually blocking traffic as they wait like vultures -- my blood boils.

Payday loans and towing companies... Nice company you keep Mary Margaret Haugen. Washington will be 1000x better when you're out of the legislature.

@3: Sweet, a Paultard. I hope a friend mistakenly parks your car in a tow lot on a Saturday and it costs you $1500 because you mistakenly report it stolen so it takes a day or two to figure out. Heck, I hope it costs you $10k. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO PAY YOUR LIFE'S SAVINGS YOU SHOULDN'T MAKE ANY MISTAKES AT ALL.

@3,

For all your whinging about how the U.S. is beholden to corporate interests, you sure do love defending the status quo.

@3. Don't be silly, it's never that simple. A few years back my car was stolen. I reported it to the police, a few weeks later I got a notice from a towing company that found my car a day after it was stolen. To get my car back, it was gonna cost 2,000 bucks to get it back. It was a 77 corolla. I let them keep it.
I still think I got fucked over. What do you think?

@7. That's not loaning your car. That's having your friend chauffeur you.

@7: So there is no amount you would consider too astronomical to pay if *you* mistakenly parked in a pay lot? It's a private contract, after all -- if they want $5k, you'd suck it up and say "gosh, self, that was really stupid, but it was my mistake, so it's fair"? How about if they want 20% of your wages for the rest of your life?

I'm only annoyed because it's self-righteous people like you who have no problem talking about personal responsibility as long as someone else is getting screwed. You may be different, but from personal experience, your sort usually screams the loudest about unfairness and justice when it's your turn.

I suppose when they try to cap DVD movie rental fee's at 50 cents per day ... THE POWERFUL DVD MOVIE RENTAL LOBBY WILL HIJACK THAT ATTEMPT!?

@10. Ugh, toe companies may be private but they get the majority of their business from the public. If you're gonna suck the tit, best to keep mama (the public sector) happy.
You can't say the same about DVD rentals, so don't.

@7. Fuck it. $90,000 for overdrafting your checking account.
$4,000 per additional minute on your phone plan.
$90 and a kidney to pay off parking tickets. Screw up twice, I dare you.
$9,000 late fee per day on rent.

When you're broke, $800+ basically looks the same, seeing as you can't afford any of it and you don't know where you're going to get the money.

I could keep going but #9 already owned you.

And #10, renting a movie isn't forced upon you. Think Blockbuster would have any business if the penalties got too high?

I racked up $16 in late fees at Hollywood video when I was a kid. I had about $10/day to live on. All it did for them was lose a customer, because there's no way I was going to pay and there was a blockbuster across the street.

Come to think of it, a few years back I did the same with US Bank. They wanted to take $100 out of a check I was depositing for 3 'overdrafts' that weren't even my fault. One was for $.06. They'll never see the money, and now that I actually have savings, they've lost a great account too.

Bad/unfair business practices ought to harm a company. $800 isn't a fee, it's fucking robbery/extortion.

@12
The joke's on you. I balance my checkbook down to the penny and I check it every 15 minutes to make sure that my account has not been compromised.

And right after that I check the minutes on my phone plan.

And I never park in a metered space even if it means I have to hike 10 miles into the city for an appointment.

What? Isn't that normal behavior? That's why the rest of you are complaining, isn't it? Because you don't spend your days tracking and checking every possible way you could incur a fine or a fee or additional charge!

@3 in a representative government the state can make laws that rule over private transactions. Don't like it? Vote for new reps.

Mary Margaret Haugen, for a older gal from whidbey island who doesnt know about gay rights, she sure has some firm opinions on policy.

@14

No I don't. I spend my days living my life. You must be a blast on dates.

@14, please take @17 out on a date and teach him/her the definition of "irony."

immediately after hitting "post" I realized that was most likely the case. oh well, it wasn't the first time I've made a jackass out of myself on the internet, nor will it be the last I'd hazard...if anything let my post serve as a preemptive indictment to any would-be commenters advocating seriously OCD fee paranoia ;(

actually, fuck, I just should have owned the deadpan instead of admitting I screwed up.

What could the towing industry lobbists possibly be saying that is encouraging lawmakers to fuck up this bill?

"But our customers/your constituents love it when the private marketplace allows them to be charged out the ass!"

Come on, something's dirty here. Who's bribing Mary Margaret Haugen? There's no way she could be that stupid to just think up on her own that adding that language would be a good idea.

@11 & 13

I really dont give a shit about DVD rentals, just making a sarcastic point. There is no toe truck lobby, hiring a bunch of lawyers to prevent caps on toe trucks fees really doesn't make one powerful or influential. It didnt make Occupy Seattle powerful when they had a few lawyers working for them to prevent their eviction from SCCC.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention!

I just called Haugen and requested she not cave to the tow lobby... Then I called Pollet and thanked him for introducing the bill, and I requested that it be amended to require tow companies to immediately release any vehicle in their possession to the rightful owner, even if they don't pay on the spot... Not everybody can come up with hundreds of dollars on the spot, and further, compounding day rates may make it impossible for them to get their vehicle back if they're experience financial difficulties.

Can anyone help me come up with a one liner? I need a good one line analogy to equate tow operators keeping cars against the owner's will until they pay: Need a good sound bite!!!

Yeah, the towing laws are messed up. This is one reason I do my best to walk/biked everywhere.

The problem is that the tow companies can make more money auctioning the impounded car than charging reasonable rates to the owner. It is legal theft.

Really, the best way is just to make sure they can't turn around and sell or auction the cars for a profit. Make it more profitable to charge a reasonable amount to the owner of the car and get it out of the impound lot than to hold onto it and sell it.

Caps would do this, but numerical caps are a mistake. Legislation should never include hard monetary numbers, just percentages and comparisons. They should require the lots not sell the car for at least a year, and limit the storage fee with a comparison to average storage and parking rates.

Seattle towing is notorious for bringing an element of whimsy to their clients. Picture this: your car is being towed. You parked in front of a hydrant, so you deserve it. But they leave a little toy car that is an exact replica of the one you had in its place. So you return to your spot thinking your car has shrunk!