8 ms·

I got towed in Minneapolis on a Sunday because the Wisconsin DMV put a flag in the computer system for my license plate. The flag was to remind the Wisconsin DM

I got towed in Minneapolis on a Sunday because the Wisconsin DMV put a flag in the computer system for my license plate. The flag was to remind the Wisconsin DMV to make sure my address was updated next time I came in. The towing company refused to release my car until I was able to get the Wisconsin DMV on the phone with them (Monday afternoon) to verify that my registration was paid up (it was) and I still had to pay the impounding fee (~$200) and had to take 8 hours of vacation because I couldn't drive home Sunday night like I had planned and thus couldn't go to work on Monday. That is what privatization of law enforcement with a financial incentive to “find crimes” leads to.

crooked-v 8y ago
> and I still had to pay the impounding fee (~$200) Is that even legal?
- tptacek 8y ago
  San Francisco towed my car and then lost it for 3 months. I called repeatedly and they insisted they didn't have it, and that I file a police report for it having been stolen. I got another car to replace it. 3 months later, Erin found it, while taking a walk past the impound lot on Harrison. They made her pay all 3 months of impound fees.
  - mrhappyunhappy 8y ago
    That's so frustrating!! Sorry you had to go through that :( There should be an easy way to dispute that sort of thing that doesn't require you to take a day off work. There seems to be a lack of checks and balances in US that leads to all sorts of bs scenarios. It's one of the reasons I don't miss the country.
    - tptacek 8y ago
      It turns out to be very difficult to sue a municipality. They need to be on the hook for a lot more than towing fees to make it cost effective.
  - kurthr 8y ago
    Wow, that's $6500.
  - blackguardx 8y ago
    I had my car stolen in San Francisco and had to pay to get it out. The city contracts out towing services and the contract doesn't say they can't charge for stolen cars, so... The city made an effort to change this a few years back but stopped when they realized that they would have to pay the towing company a bunch of money from loss of revenue with the modified contract.
    - optimiz3 8y ago
      If you made a police report, make sure to amend it with any damages as well as towing fees suffered in case they catch the perpetrator. This will give you a basis for remediation.
      - blackguardx 8y ago
        It turns out that car theft is an extremely low priority class of crimes in the Bay Area.
- really3452 8y ago
  Doesn't matter. I don't live in Minneapolis so to contest it I would have had to take another day off of work and spend a significant amount of time and money driving there to get $200 back.
  - mrhappyunhappy 8y ago
    Man that's bullshit. We need an agency / taskforce that can investigate that sort of thing and bring swift justice / reform without making the little guy suffer through the court system.
    - acct1771 8y ago
      They used to be called journalists.
      - mrhappyunhappy 8y ago
        I mean a task force with authority to act quickly with incentives aligned purely with the average citizen. Something that doesn't require me to wait - they take it upon themselves to serve justice.
        chasontherobot 8y ago
        Robin Hood?
      - duxup 8y ago
        I actually just saw a local news report on someone breaking towing rules in Minneapolis a few nights ago. They got some city council people on TV even.
    - girvo 8y ago
      Various industry Ombudsman’s in Australia do an alright (but not perfect) job of this, for certain industries (like telco). And the ACCC is scary, too. I wish they worked quicker however, and were expanded to more industries.
- PurpleBoxDragon 8y ago
  It shouldn't be. If anything, it should be treated as theft and the towing company treated accordingly.
optimiz3 8y ago
File a lawsuit in small claims court for your time and the fee. Not only do you get paid, you discourage this type of behavior. Disclaimer: IANAL, but I've successfully sued towing companies. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
- sneak 8y ago
  Placing the burden of time and attention onto the one-time victim to ensure that chronic bad actors don't continue is not the solution that you are looking for.
  - johnchristopher 8y ago
    What is then ?
    - close04 8y ago
      Voting for someone who is willing to take this battle at a higher level?
      - HeadsUpHigh 8y ago
        That just sounds like the easy excuse honestly.
        close04 8y ago
        What exactly does the election process mean to you then? What value do you see in it if not something like this? You have 2 choices. The first is the "always do it yourself" fix to other people's mistakes or intentional trespasses. The second is to have the "people in charge" do it for you in a sustainable manner, at scale. The second option might include repeated litigation. I have no idea how it would work but making them pay more than they earn every time is a strong deterrent.
        8y ago
duxup 8y ago
I'm fairly sure in Minneapolis that they CAN'T tow because of short term registration issues due to city ordnance prohibiting just that. Might be worth reporting it to someone on the city council... provided you have time left. The city council has shown interest in restricting towing (has done it) and just recently they had one of them on TV talking about towing bad actors. There is a lot of cynicism further down the chain but it is just BS by people who don't know anything, as at least in Minneapolis politicians have taken action regarding towing.

crooked-v 8y ago

> and I still had to pay the impounding fee (~$200) Is that even legal?

tptacek 8y ago
San Francisco towed my car and then lost it for 3 months. I called repeatedly and they insisted they didn't have it, and that I file a police report for it having been stolen. I got another car to replace it. 3 months later, Erin found it, while taking a walk past the impound lot on Harrison. They made her pay all 3 months of impound fees.
- mrhappyunhappy 8y ago
  That's so frustrating!! Sorry you had to go through that :( There should be an easy way to dispute that sort of thing that doesn't require you to take a day off work. There seems to be a lack of checks and balances in US that leads to all sorts of bs scenarios. It's one of the reasons I don't miss the country.
  - tptacek 8y ago
    It turns out to be very difficult to sue a municipality. They need to be on the hook for a lot more than towing fees to make it cost effective.
- kurthr 8y ago
  Wow, that's $6500.
- blackguardx 8y ago
  I had my car stolen in San Francisco and had to pay to get it out. The city contracts out towing services and the contract doesn't say they can't charge for stolen cars, so... The city made an effort to change this a few years back but stopped when they realized that they would have to pay the towing company a bunch of money from loss of revenue with the modified contract.
  - optimiz3 8y ago
    If you made a police report, make sure to amend it with any damages as well as towing fees suffered in case they catch the perpetrator. This will give you a basis for remediation.
    - blackguardx 8y ago
      It turns out that car theft is an extremely low priority class of crimes in the Bay Area.
really3452 8y ago
Doesn't matter. I don't live in Minneapolis so to contest it I would have had to take another day off of work and spend a significant amount of time and money driving there to get $200 back.
- mrhappyunhappy 8y ago
  Man that's bullshit. We need an agency / taskforce that can investigate that sort of thing and bring swift justice / reform without making the little guy suffer through the court system.
  - acct1771 8y ago
    They used to be called journalists.
    - mrhappyunhappy 8y ago
      I mean a task force with authority to act quickly with incentives aligned purely with the average citizen. Something that doesn't require me to wait - they take it upon themselves to serve justice.
      - chasontherobot 8y ago
        Robin Hood?
    - duxup 8y ago
      I actually just saw a local news report on someone breaking towing rules in Minneapolis a few nights ago. They got some city council people on TV even.
  - girvo 8y ago
    Various industry Ombudsman’s in Australia do an alright (but not perfect) job of this, for certain industries (like telco). And the ACCC is scary, too. I wish they worked quicker however, and were expanded to more industries.
PurpleBoxDragon 8y ago
It shouldn't be. If anything, it should be treated as theft and the towing company treated accordingly.

optimiz3 8y ago

File a lawsuit in small claims court for your time and the fee. Not only do you get paid, you discourage this type of behavior. Disclaimer: IANAL, but I've successfully sued towing companies. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

sneak 8y ago
Placing the burden of time and attention onto the one-time victim to ensure that chronic bad actors don't continue is not the solution that you are looking for.
- johnchristopher 8y ago
  What is then ?
  - close04 8y ago
    Voting for someone who is willing to take this battle at a higher level?
    - HeadsUpHigh 8y ago
      That just sounds like the easy excuse honestly.
      - close04 8y ago
        What exactly does the election process mean to you then? What value do you see in it if not something like this? You have 2 choices. The first is the "always do it yourself" fix to other people's mistakes or intentional trespasses. The second is to have the "people in charge" do it for you in a sustainable manner, at scale. The second option might include repeated litigation. I have no idea how it would work but making them pay more than they earn every time is a strong deterrent.
        8y ago

duxup 8y ago

I'm fairly sure in Minneapolis that they CAN'T tow because of short term registration issues due to city ordnance prohibiting just that. Might be worth reporting it to someone on the city council... provided you have time left. The city council has shown interest in restricting towing (has done it) and just recently they had one of them on TV talking about towing bad actors. There is a lot of cynicism further down the chain but it is just BS by people who don't know anything, as at least in Minneapolis politicians have taken action regarding towing.