Car Towed? Know the Rules

Awareness of options gives motorists comfort, recourse when their vehicle disappears

What's more panic-inducing than discovering your vehicle isn't where you parked it?

Was it stolen? Towed away?

Hillsborough County wants residents and visitors to know the rules in this unnerving situation. Consumer Protection Services enforces a host of regulations intended to protect motorists and regulate towing services. Here are five:

Towing services need permission to tow from private property, and must post signs, with telephone numbers, saying that trespassing vehicles will be removed. If your vehicle is missing, look for a sign and call the number. Better yet, look for such signs when deciding where to park.

Towing services must notify local law enforcement within 30 minutes of towing a vehicle, and they must return calls from vehicle owners within one hour.

Law enforcement can help motorists determine if their vehicle has been towed. If you don't see a posted sign, call authorities on a non-emergency line.

Even if a vehicle already is connected to a tow truck, the truck operator must release the vehicle to its owner for no more than half of the towing rate.

Vehicle owners may retrieve personal property from their vehicle, regardless of whether payment for the tow has been made.

Hillsborough County Consumer Protection Services provides a complete list of motorists' options in such circumstances, along with a rundown of towing services' responsibilities. The department collaborates with the Tax Collector, law enforcement, and citizen groups to promote safe, fair towing service.

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