My wife's car was towed while visiting my daughter at college because she didn't realize the guest pass she displayed was a weekend pass that did not cover weekdays.
The egregious part is that the charge was $280 to tow the car about a mile. I called the company and asked what they would charge to tow a car about a mile. He said about $100. Then I asked why my wife was charged $280. He said that was because it was towed for being illegally parked, and that's the rate established by Baltimore County. What he didn't say is that that is the MAXIMUM rate they can charge. I said I was going to leave a negative review and he took offense on the basis that they provided "courteous" service. There is nothing courteous about charging $280, nearly 3 times what a reasonable cost would be.
This is a rip off racket and companies that engage in it and charge the maximum allowable rate are unethical. If you want to read more about these egregious circumstances, there was an article written by the Baltimore Brew titled: "With towing reform shot down by the City Council, high fees and aggressive practices will continue in Baltimore". This was about Baltimore City but the same thing exists in Baltimore County.
If you should ever need towing service for a broken down car, I strongly encourage you to find another towing company.
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