The sun beats down on the SL Recovery office on North Graham Street in north Charlotte. Behind a fence sit rows of beat-up cars, trucks and trailers.
A black sedan pulls into the gravel lot. Out steps Shavon Robinson in sandals and a dusty shirt. He’s here to collect his truck.
“I was visiting my girlfriend and she stays uptown, and her apartment has a parking deck,” Robinson said.
Unable to find an open space, Robinson parked in a handicap spot — a decision he knew was wrong. But after a long day at work and limited parking options, he took the first available spot he saw.
“I got there at midnight-ish, and I want to say the car was gone before 5 a.m.,” he said.
He called out of work and got a ride from his girlfriend. He’s not sure how much he’ll have to pay.
“She sent me $300, and I’m hoping and praying they say a number below that.”
If not, he’s afraid he might lose the truck. That’s what happened to his last vehicle — a Ford Explorer. A towing company wanted to charge him $450, plus daily fees.
“So by the time (the) paycheck came around, I called them back, and they were like, ‘OK, you’re at $750 now.’ I couldn’t pay bills and get the car out. And by the time I got my next paycheck, that was going to be more than the check,” Robinson said.
He says losing the car cost him around $5,000. And with rent and grocery prices climbing, he can’t afford to lose another.
Towing companies in North Carolina have long been free to set their own prices.
Democrat Laura Budd represents Mecklenburg County in the state General Assembly.
“There are those out there that are predatory, because there are absolutely no governmental restrictions or boundaries on what you can charge, where you can tow from, signage, hours of operation, how far you can store the vehicle from the location of the tow — that sort of thing,” Budd said.
She says some companies are charging up to $500 for a tow, and some truck drivers have been charged thousands.
Democrat Carolyn Logan, who also represents Mecklenburg County, says companies are exploiting drivers.
“I’m not saying that people should not follow the law, but to abuse people is a different story. That is not going to be tolerated,” Logan said.
That’s why Budd and Logan have filed a bill that would cap towing fees and limit how far companies can take your car — generally no more than 25 miles.
A new state commission would set price limits. Towing companies would also have to post signs, take multiple forms of payment and log each tow in a statewide database.
Then, if your car is towed …
“You can go to that website and it’s going to pop up exactly where your car is, how much it costs to get it out, the hours of operations, as well as the methods of payments,” Budd said.
The bill’s sponsors worked with the Towing and Recovery Professionals of North Carolina to draft the legislation. In a statement, the group said it hopes the bill protects, rather than harms, the state’s towing companies.
Back at the SL Recovery towing lot, owner Sean Williams says he supports the legislation.
“Some of the people that's out here are overcharging. They're just trying to get rich quick,” Williams said.
In 2011, the Charlotte City Council tried to cap towing fees. But the state Supreme Court struck down the rules in 2014, finding the city overstepped its power.
Employee AJ Jameson says ever since, the fees have soared.
“It was $120 and $15 a day. Then progressively it just kept getting higher and higher,” Jameson said.
Now, his company charges $275 per tow, plus $35 a day. And he thinks that’s cheap.
“There needs to be some kind of umbrella on it. If not, it’s just going to keep getting higher and higher,” he said.
The bill remains in a House committee. Budd and Logan are optimistic it could pass with bipartisan support.
