Tell the Des Moines City Council:
End Predatory Towing Practices

It’s time for the city to provide protections from predatory towing practices. Iowa has some of the weakest consumer protections around towing practices in the country. Towinglaws.com evaluates 15 key consumer protections related to towing. Iowa receives an F on their report card with only two of the fifteen practices currently required, and Iowa is among the worst states in the country at 47th for towing protections. The city has deferred to the state’s regulations or lack thereof leaving residents of Des Moines to bear the brunt of our state’s poor policies.

Residents experience aggressive towing tactics and high storage costs. Cars are sold at auction after short notification periods, and in some cases, the towing company keeps a windfall from those sales. Parking illegally should not be a life altering event. The city can and should protect its residents from these predatory practices.

We urge the city to pass an ordinance addressing predatory towing practices that includes the following protections:

  • Form of payment – The contractor shall be required to accept credit cards with a cap on credit card fees of 3% (i.e. – no $60 charge to use a credit card)

  • Notice provisions must be sent within 72 hours of a tow and shall provide a minimum of 30 days for vehicle recovery

  • Personal property – the contractor shall allow the owner of a vehicle to access the vehicle to retrieve personal property without payment for towing fees to recover the vehicle;

  • Drop fees – if owner comes back to vehicle while before towed off the property, owner can retain vehicle for a reasonable drop fee that can be paid via credit card;

  • Transparency on charges – require company to provide an itemized invoice of all towing charges and require maximum towing charges including drop fees be posted at place of business and on the website

  • Auction proceeds – Vehicle auction sales shall not be a windfall to the towing company; the towing company may recover reasonable costs and any unclaimed proceeds shall go to a city transit fund. 

  • Vehicle condition inspection – allow lienholder or insurance company to request information on the vehicles condition prior expiration of reclamation period for a reasonable fee $100