Tow companies would accept card payments and provide abandoned-vehicle access

A private towing company must accept credit-card payment when it stops a tow after attaching equipment. This applies when the company releases an abandoned vehicle to its registered owner or operator before removing it from the place where it was abandoned. The company must accept a credit card in addition to other payment methods. The payment covers any fee charged to release the vehicle. This applies when the company stops the tow and releases the vehicle before removing it from the abandonment location.

Police authorities and private towing companies must send custody notices, and owners and other claimants may reclaim the vehicle or property during the stated reclaim period. Notice goes to the last known registered owner, recorded lienholders, and other known claimants. Reclaiming the vehicle requires paying towing, preservation, storage, and notice costs. The text refers to a 20-day notice and reclaim period, but the extracted wording also contains 10-day language, so the exact period cannot be confirmed from these passages. After the reclaim period ends, the text says the affected people lose their claims and courts may not recognize them. The notice must be sent within the stated deadline after custody begins, and the reclaim period runs from the effective date of the notice.

Private towing companies must provide certain vehicle information to lienholders and let registered owners retrieve listed personal items once during the reclaim period. Lienholders who received notice may request an inspection or photos. Registered owners may retrieve accessible items such as medicine, identification, clothing, phones, and work tools. A lienholder may be charged an inspection fee of up to $100 and must pay it before the request is fulfilled. The company may use safety and security procedures for inspections and property retrieval. Retrieving personal property does not reclaim the vehicle or give up the company’s lien. The lienholder request applies while the company has custody. The owner’s one retrieval opportunity applies during the stated 20-day vehicle reclaim period.

Private towing companies must display daily storage and impound fees and follow uniform statewide abandoned-vehicle rules. The fee display must be visible at the company’s business and on its website, if it has one. The statewide rule applies to county and city towing ordinances. A person reclaiming the vehicle must show a valid driver’s license and proof of financial liability coverage before driving it away. The text says the statewide rule preempts county and municipal abandoned-vehicle towing ordinances. The fee display applies while the company takes custody of an abandoned vehicle. The identification and insurance documents are required before the vehicle is driven away.