The Ohio House unanimously passed a bill yesterday designed to crack down on predatory towing practices. House Bill 382 looks to make a host of changes largely aimed at situations when cars are towed from private parking lots.

The Ohio House unanimously passed a bill yesterday designed to crack down on predatory towing practices.

House Bill 382 looks to make a host of changes largely aimed at situations when cars are towed from private parking lots.

However, there were provisions added recently that also seek to prevent towing companies from trying to scam insurance companies when a vehicle is towed following an accident.

�Ohio citizens are essentially powerless to deal with an industry that seems to operate under few or no rules,� said Rep. Mike Duffey, R-Worthington, who sponsored the bill with Rep. Heather Bishoff, D-Blacklick.

The bill seeks to end price gouging, when towing companies stack �administrative fees� on top of the state-allowed charge of $90 per tow, and $12 per day of storage. It also would establish industry safety standards, require written contracts between property owners and towing companies, and require more detailed signage at private lots.

Lawmakers heard testimony about towing issues, including from residents of the Short North and Ohio State University campus area, where public parking is limited and private lots are closely monitored. The Ohio Insurance Institute called Ohio the �Wild Wild West� of towing.

Cynthia Hudson of Granville, a graduate student at OSU, told lawmakers that she was meeting someone in November but got confused by the location and parking for the campus book store. After learning she was in the wrong place, she stopped at the restroom and returned to her car in less than 10 minutes, but it had been towed.

She was charged $148 and had to pay an ATM fee because the towing company would not accept credit cards.

�It was towed before I was even able to figure out I was parked at a nonbusiness that appeared to be the business in question,� she said.

Asked about the unanimous approval from a GOP-controlled House that is often cautious about new business regulations, Speaker William G. Batchelder, R-Medina, recalled his own experience being towed in Columbus.

�This has been a problem for a long time,� he said. �You get a lot of complaints about it.�

Bob Lambert of the Towing and Recovery Association of Ohio has said the bill is an improvement over the original. Most towing operators did not oppose the bill, but Lambert said he hopes the Senate will address some lingering issues, such as a towing rate increase he says is overdue.

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