Florida Passes Law to Fight Predatory Towing
We at TopMark Funding have written about predatory towing practices in the past, including steps taken by both the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Transportation. Now the states are getting involved as Florida is inches away from implementing a law in opposition to the practice.
Details
While the Bill, titled HB 179, has not been officially signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, it passed unanimously in both the state House and Senate, meaning an approximately 0% chance it will not come to pass even with a governor’s veto.
In short, the bill requires a towing company, for sedans or big rigs, to provide pricing guidelines before starting service, giving the driver all the information they need to know before the vehicle is put into the towing company’s hands. Any extra money demanded beyond those fees listed or beyond the price stated will be considered illegal.
Another feature of the Bill is allowing the owner to retrieve personal items from the cabin when the truck is stored but not yet released to the owner.
President and CEO of the Florida Trucking Association Alix Miller had nothing but nice words to say about HB 179. “[It is] a huge victory for trucking in Florida, the trucking industry nationally, who have seen invoices as high as $200,000, and the motoring public, who fall victim to predatory towing companies. The towing and recovery industry is vital to the Florida trucking industry, and we’re grateful to have many as members of FTA and for their input in the legislation. HB 179 will weed out the predatory towing tactics of bad actors and make the entire industry better and safer.”
Conclusion
The law will go into effect July 1st, 2024, provided that there are no court challenges from the towing industry.
With price transparency becoming a popular movement in the United States due to the previous economic trend of intense inflation, it will be interesting to see if other states follow in Florida’s footsteps and require immediate access to costs for towing services, allowing users to make a better-informed decision of what he or she is getting into when they relinquish the vehicle.
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