|
|
1 (800) 8 6 9- 4 3 5 7 |
Towing & Tow Truck Services |
Towing Service Industry Related News and Articles |
April 14, 2010 Illegal Tow Practices - The following are some of the more common laws that some towing companies violate. We all know that sometimes it seems there are just to many laws, but also we are glad that most of these laws exist because they are protecting us from harm. Our intent here is to educate the general public about illegal practices by some towing companies that can be harmful to the public in general. This information is not to be taken as legal advise as laws change and vary by area. Our area of expertise is southern California. The level of harm to the public can range from wrongfully towed vehicles to uninsured tow drivers and even to crimes against clients phisically. At the end of this article will be some tips that can be followed to reduce the risk of exposure to these illegal tow practices. The most common complaint heard from the public in my experience is "my car was towed without proper cause", followed by "something was stolen from my car while it was being towed". Other issues that come up are disputes over damage to a towed vehicle, disputes about price fairness or changes in price after the vehicle was towed. Sometimes people will be approached by a tow driver and they think he is the driver that they called, when in fact he's not. Storage rates are another area of common dispute. Tow drivers are sometimes not properly licensed to drive the type of tow truck that they are driving. Lets explore these individual issues one at a time and see just what is going on out in the streets. Starting with the popular issue of vehicles being towed wrongfully we have to say there is some grey area. The laws in California allow for the impounding and removal of illegally parked vehicles on both private and public property. Most of the disputes will arise out of private property impounds such as apartment complex's, shopping centers, business centers and simular. When parking is difficult to find people get impatient and creative. By law signs are required to notify you of the possibility of impound and towing, but they aren't required over every space. The California laws are currently not interpreted the same by all. The area of dispute arises on parking lots for the general public. Some areas are towing vehicles with out waiting the required 1 hour period in a public lot, while others you can get away with parking illegally for 1 hour. Not all areas have the same interpretation of what a public lot is. Many impounds in private lots such as a gated apartment complex come from people thinking they can just run in for a second while parked illigally. Beware, your car can be hooked up and leaving faster than most people can drink a soda. Towing and impound fees are steep, usually starting at around $250. if you follow your car and retrieve it right away. Most apartment complexes require people to list their car plate number on their lease and even a friend you allow to use your spot can be towed. Some companies are overlly agressive and do not follow the laws for impound towing and it can be next to impossible to prove that they violated the law. The next issue we will discuss is theft of personal property while in the towed vehicle. Any time a vehicle that is unattended by the owner, and several other people have access to it, there stands to be possibility of property theft. The more valuable the items are and the smaller they are the more likely to be stolen. Items that would be common items to disapear might be cameras, cell phones, ipod's, lap top's, money, CD's, and stereo equipment. Not all tow companies have required background and drug testing to reduce the likelyhood of theft. Not all tow companies are reputable companies. Towed vehicle damage is another area consumers can be hurt. Damages to a vehicle can occur when equipment is not properly maintained. Companies that have little regaurd for the laws that regulate towing equipment will buy chains, cables, and hooks that are not rated as required by law because they are cheaper. Those same type of companies are apt to hire less experienced or poorly qualified drivers and may not have any training programs in place to educate drivers on safe practices. While there is not much for options when you dont think the price is fair, know this, it is fraud to tell someone a cost for a service and then change the cost after the consumer is obligated. Any quality company is going to want your repeat business and will rely on a good reputation and will not practice this type of deceit. Note that there are legitamate resons for changing the price such as the client failed to inform the tow company of an important fact like the car has no tires. That being said here is the some what unique situation in the towing industry. If the client doesn't pay for the tow, the tow company can impound the car, and to get it back you would have to pay the original tow plus towing to their impound yard and storage fees. A non reputable tow company might practice quoting low pricing then try to add extras or even flat out dispute what was quoted, then threaten impounding if the client doesn't comply. California laws prohibit tow companies from stopping at a stranded motorist situation for the purpose of soliciting business. It is a common practice though for some companies to stop and try to solicite, and even when the motorist advises that they have a truck on the way some will try to offer a better price to get the job. Some drivers have even just not told the motorist that they are not the company that the motorist called. California law provides for penalties against tow drivers who engage in this activity. This activity puts consumers at risk because they have no way to quickly assertain weather this is a properly licensed, and insured company or not. It is also risky from the stand point of how many tow trucks would be stopping and then pulling back out into traffic if this practice was legal. There is also a level of safety provided to the public by not allowing just any guy in a tow truck to stop and try to sell you on his service. Imagine how intimidated your wife or daughter might be if some big dirty guy stopped and really wanted to get that tow. Storage rates and payment options as well as hours of operation of storage facilities are mostly governed by law. Of course the laws are for consumer protection but still do allow for free enterprise and the making of a profit. Most people who have their vehicles impounded would say that the rates charged are excessive, and consumers frequently feel riped off. There is a logic to that and it generally goes something like this " If I called 3 or 4 companies and asked how much it would cost to tow my car 4 miles and store it 1 day, I could get a lot better price", however that will not help get money refunded. The only way to get money refunded is if you can prove that the towing company violated the towing laws. Companies that make a practice of abusing consumers in this way are usually good at knowing what is imposible or impractical for a consumer to prove. Now lets look at the driver of the tow truck that will come to rescue you. In California the DMV requires a special drivers license for certain types of commercial drivers. Tow companies need some drivers with DMV commercial licences and some drivers may not need special licenses. Furthermore some police agencies or motor clubs may have special requirements that private party towing doesn't. This creates a tempting situation to an unethical company when they are short on commercial licensed drivers or drivers with the special qualifications to do the job properly and legally, and may have a driver available who can drive the truck but is not properly licensed to do so. An unethical company will send the unqualified driver out just to get the job. As of the writing of this article tow truck drivers in California do not need any special license or training as long as they do not tow more than one trailer and no more than 26,000 pounds total weight of all vehicles, that includes passengers and any thing else that may be in the vehicles. This means that almost every passenger car and family vehicle falls into this category. There is no legal requirement to background check or drug test tow drivers. This means companies are free to hire convicted murderers, rapists, child molesters, or who ever they want. Now for the good news, some police agencies and motor clubs do ask for drivers to meet some type of requirements for their tows, but enforcement is weak. Any quality tow company will drug test and backgroud check their drivers as well as insure that the driver is well trained and properly licensed for the truck and tow job they are performing. A quality tow company will also have moral values and want their clients to be safe, thus they would not hire a murderer or rapist or the like. Now that you can see the many ways an unethical tow company can put you, your family, and the general public at risk of harm lets look at some things you can do to reduce the risk of harm. 1. Ask the phone receptionist a few questions. Do you drug test and background check all your employees and if so what do you require for a driver to pass and be elligable to drive? Do you require all drivers to be certified by some industry recognized training program such as CHP or Wreckmaster before driving for you? Do you quote an accurate total price prior to doing the tow? Is your company a member of any trade associations? Does the receptionist answer your questions politely or seem agrivated by your questions. Obviously the agrivated one is the one to avoid. 2. Have you seen what this company's trucks or employees look like? The unethical and undesireable companies will usually neglect appearance of vehicles, equipment, and employees. Another thing to make note of if you have seen the employees in action is their language, attitudes, and professionalism. These are all hints as to what type of company you are dealing with so be observant. 3. Ask the driver upon arrival and before they hook up your car what the charges will be so there is no misunderstanding of the charges. Remember once they hook up your car and there is a dispute they can impound the car if you don't pay what they ask. Do not leave any valuables in the vehicle once you leave it. 4. When parking, always obey parking rules even on private property. When parked always hide and secure if possible any valuable personal property. Dont take chances and park illegally even for just a minute 5. Never accept a tow from a driver that stops to solicite, it is an illegal practice and no quality company will be out there breaking the law on purpose. Note that it is legal for a driver to stop if he is waived down, so if you are in an unsafe or dangerous place you will need to signal a driver to allow him to legally stop. written by David Lee Rupp, President of southern California based, 1 800 Tow-Help Inc. |
Articles and news are the sole intelectuall property of " 1 800 Tow-Help Inc." and may be posted in part or entirety on your website only if a link is posted to this page and authorship is credited wherever this copy or portions of this copy are posted. No copying of any namestyle or graphics are allowed. |
April 14,2010 How to Start a Towing Company – Owning your own business can be very rewarding both financially and personally. Just to see something that you thought of grow from the beginning stages and develop into something successful and helpful to the community and be profitable is great. But on the other side of the coin you could put your life savings into something that sounds almost fool proof , and then loose it all. In this article I will help you explore the costs of starting and running your own business. You will be nudged to think of things you have probably never thought of. Some of the things that we will explore are : How do I choose a good name, or location for the business? What type of expenses are involved? What about my competition? What business losses should I expect? Who will my customer be? As you go through this article start a list of things you will need and the estimated cost associated with each item. I like to think of this like getting into the car and heading out to see some great site you heard about. The likelihood of getting where want in a pleasant way will be much better, much cheaper, and faster if you do some research and planning. Before we get into all the details about the towing business I want to ask you to think about why you want to do this. If your motivation is that you know someone who made the big bucks in towing, you might want to think again. You should be desiring to help people, or you just really love big trucks, or something more like that, because you will need a love for what you’re doing to motivate you when the tough financial times come. To start with you are going to need to decide two important things. What area will I start my business in and service, and what type of towing will I specialize in. Once you determine these two things then you can start developing a list of expenses. You may want to start in the area you currently work in due to people you already know, or you may want to be in an area by where you live. That’s ok but you still need to think like a business man and do some research to see if this is a good idea. The same thing applies toward the type of towing you will specialize in. You will need to look at your competition and see if they are meeting the customer’s needs well in the area you want to service, and for the type of towing service you want to do. Is there slow response, rude employees, long on hold time, late arrivals, dirty appearance of equipment and personnel? This is what you want to find. If price is your only angle, what will you do if the competition simply lowers his price until you run out of money? If you don’t find these problems with your competitors think seriously about changing your location or type of towing until you can bring some relief to ailing customers. Next you will need to choose a name. Try something different so people will remember you, there are already enough Dave’s Towing companies. Then check into what business entity would be best for you. You could be a corporation, LLC, partnership, or a sole proprietorship. Each has its benefits and drawbacks as well as costs associated with each. Most start ups will be a sole proprietor, especially one man shops, just know that in this form you and your personal property can be at greater risk in a law suit. Now that you know where you will start and what your specialty will be you need to think about who you want for a customer and who you don’t. Will you work for Police, motor clubs, insurance companies, private parties, or repair shops? It is wise to think about what type of customer you may not want also. The reasons you may not want a certain type of customer is the work is low profit, risky, slow paying, or inconvenient. Once you have determined who you would like for a customer choose how to best reach them. The normal methods are yellow pages, internet ads, truck signage, cards, soliciting, and promo’s. Some of the common promo’s are t-shirts, ball caps, pens, coffee mugs, and similar items. Local laws are an important thing to check into also. It is bad for business to have overlooked some agency requirement and be labeled a bootleg or illegal operation. So find out what licenses, permits, and agency fees will be needed. In California all towing companies are required to have a Ca. number, and a motor carrier permit, and if you have any employees you will need workers comp insurance. Some cities are very picky about parking a commercial vehicle in a residential area or running a business out of your home, so check before you start. Business losses are something to definitely factor in. All businesses suffer losses from non payment, bad checks, employee theft, outsider theft, vehicle damage claims, personal injury claims, and other. There will also be times you can’t work due to the flu, or a truck break down, or you’re in a training seminar or at a wedding. These things need to be figured in either by subtracting from revenue or adding an expense for them. Networking and promoting your business will cost money too. Will you join some organization like the Chamber of Commerce, the Tow Truck Association, or a Christian Businessmen organization? Don’t forget to add the cost of dues, meals, and subtract from the revenue for the time you are there and unable to work. What type of payment will you accept? There are costs for accepting credit cards, debit cards, and tele-checks. Processing fees average about 2%-3% of the sale and you may have to buy a processing terminal costing up to $800. Most companies also lease the equipment. Even cash can cost you by accepting counterfeits or making wrong change, or loosing it. If you have employees this is a bigger challenge. If you are starting a one truck operation, don’t get cheap on your truck purchase. The appearance of your truck and the reliability can greatly harm your reputation if you chose poorly. I recommend starting with a truck worth about $35,000. at minimum. Speaking of appearance, will you get company uniforms or will you look unprofessional? Attorney fees, is also an area often overlooked by new businesses. I recommend a pre paid type of legal plan that allows for lots of phone question time. How about the book keeping and accounting duties? Even if you do them yourself you will need to buy software like Quick Books and will probably need to pay for set up and training or at least periodic help. Who will answer the phones, your wife, she wont do it well if you don’t pay her, and you’ll probably still need an answer service for after hours or when your out to dinner. There are many other expenses like electric, natural gas, diesel fuel, cell phone, and others that I did not cover because they are common sense things most everyone can expect. Taxes is another thing everyone can expect but a lot of people don’t figure in that as a business owner you will pay all the employer contributions as well as the employee taxes. Normally an employee would pay say $250 in SSI and the company would match that $250., now you will pay both so don’t forget to pencil it in. I hope this didn’t overwhelm you but has caused you to think and plan well enough to avoid the many pitfalls that new businesses fall into. Good luck with your new venture! Written by David Lee Rupp, President of southern California based, 1800Tow-Help Inc. |
Air Bags - The hidden dangers |