I need to hire a towing company for a commercial property

[Paul Wesley 3313]

I own a property near downtown.  It is well signed, "Private property, violators towed."  Which mostly worked for the past few years.  But increasingly, my neighbors are choosing to ignore the warning (there is a ton of legal and free street parking that is literally about 60 feet away, but it's just a lot easier to leave your car right in the guy's parking lot that says "no parking."

So I need to make a contract with a tow company and start enforcing it.  

Words of advice on who to hire?  And how to convey to them who I want towed and who not to tow?

This would all be insanely easy if people would just heed a very reasonable and simple request.

Also, I'm aware of this board's tow truck sociopath, so if you know the name of his company, help me keep away.

Advice appreciated.

[Fudge Nuggets 19407]

There was a guy on the old site a few years ago that would be able to help you out.  Not sure what he's up to these days, haven't heard from him in a while.

[fattyflattie 4640]

Pretty sure they’ll come do it at no cost to you. They make their money when someone has to pay $350 to get it from their yard.  

[Bevo 13827]

12 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

Pretty sure they’ll come do it at no cost to you. They make their money when someone has to pay $350 to get it from their yard.  

This is true. I had an employee whose boyfriend towed cars. We were having some parking issues so his company came out and put up signs. No big deal.

[Jkwellborn 7007]

There was a guy on the old site a few years ago that would be able to help you out.  Not sure what he's up to these days, haven't heard from him in a while.

Is this for real? I’ve gotta be missing the sarcasm on my phone.

[TonyTexas 10683]

1 hour ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

There was a guy on the old site a few years ago that would be able to help you out.  Not sure what he's up to these days, haven't heard from him in a while.

Especially if it’s a school or a body shop. 

[Fudge Nuggets 19407]

8 hours ago, TonyTexas said:

Especially if it’s a school or a body shop. 

Or a highway overpass.

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

Be sure to hire someone with superb rock-throwing accuracy.  You might have a rock-throwing competition among potential vendors to find the best option.

[Bernard 879]

Drive to a nearby property and look at their towing signs. Call the number on the sign; phone must be answered 24/7. Tell them you want to sign a towing contract for your property. Install proper signage; Texas towing sign regulations are very specific. Towing company will likely offer cheap signs for free. If you want higher quality, you can get them done many places at your own cost.

The contract will be no cost to you. The contract will have various options as to who can authorize a tow.

I’ve done it. It’s quite easy. 

Bernard

Edited May 23, 2022 by Bernard

[Paul Wesley 3313]

18 hours ago, Jkwellborn said:

Is this for real? I’ve gotta be missing the sarcasm on my phone.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/crime/amp/Austin-man-convicted-rock-throwing-brain-dead-11074043.php
 

This guy was a poster here - I think he regularly gave advice on how to fight unethical towing companies, and seemed to enjoy being a defender/advocate for victims.  
 

“Sociopath” wasn’t a strong enough word.  

[Paul Wesley 3313]

4 minutes ago, Bernard said:

Drive to a nearby property and look at their towing signs. Call the number on the sign; phone must be answered 24/7. Tell them you want to sign a towing contract for your property. Install proper signage; Texas towing sign regulations are very specific. Towing company will likely offer cheap signs for free. If you want higher quality, you can get them done many places.

The contract will be no cost to you. The contract will have various options as to who can authorize a tow.

I’ve done it. It’s quite easy. 

Bernard

Thank you. 
 

I kind of knew something like that was the deal, but I wasn’t sure how much control I would surrender to them to tow anyone they wanted, or how the guardrails worked to keep from getting myself or my clients towed by mistake.  
 

Also reluctant to ugly up my property with towing warnings, but the alternative is getting constantly pissed off at my immediate neighbors.  

[Bernard 879]

19 minutes ago, Paul Wesley said:

Thank you. 
 

I kind of knew something like that was the deal, but I wasn’t sure how much control I would surrender to them to tow anyone they wanted, or how the guardrails worked to keep from getting myself or my clients towed by mistake.  
 

Also reluctant to ugly up my property with towing warnings, but the alternative is getting constantly pissed off at my immediate neighbors.  

The contract I signed was a boiler plate agreement. Easy boxes to check and blanks to insert names of those who can authorize a tow. It can range from you giving the tow company carte blanche to tow any violators on their own to having them tow only when you specifically call and say “tow this mofo right now”.

Unfortunately, there’s no getting around the sign requirement. I was worried about ugly signs. In the end, they weren’t the eye sore I expected.

Bernard

[Bevo 13827]

50 minutes ago, Paul Wesley said:

Thank you. 
 

I kind of knew something like that was the deal, but I wasn’t sure how much control I would surrender to them to tow anyone they wanted, or how the guardrails worked to keep from getting myself or my clients towed by mistake.  
 

Also reluctant to ugly up my property with towing warnings, but the alternative is getting constantly pissed off at my immediate neighbors.  

Yeah, that was my issue. When we put in new signage we did away with the towing signs. It hasn't been an issue lately but I'm sure at some point I'll have to put them back up.

[Jkwellborn 7007]

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/crime/amp/Austin-man-convicted-rock-throwing-brain-dead-11074043.php
 
This guy was a poster here - I think he regularly gave advice on how to fight unethical towing companies, and seemed to enjoy being a defender/advocate for victims.  
 
“Sociopath” wasn’t a strong enough word.  

No, I remember TxTow and a bunch of the stuff that went down. I just meant was fudge real when he said he thought someone was.

[Deej 77676]

Where exactly is this place I can park for free downtown for the next few days?

[NoRagrets 1136]

I need help with big rigs - towing companies really don’t want to tow them because someone could be sleeping in the cab or something, so it’s a liability issue.

[Bernard 879]

18 hours ago, NoRagrets said:

I need help with big rigs - towing companies really don’t want to tow them because someone could be sleeping in the cab or something, so it’s a liability issue.

Can you install some bollards in a way that makes maneuvering a big rig difficult, but still allow cars, and not be ugly?

I’ve used these guys: https://www.bollardbarrier.com/

Bernard

[HornOnTheBayou 9056]

18 hours ago, NoRagrets said:

I need help with big rigs - towing companies really don’t want to tow them because someone could be sleeping in the cab or something, so it’s a liability issue.

Just tell South Austin's mom to find a new parking lot. If she leaves, the truckers will leave.

[CooterBrown 18272]

I need help with big rigs - towing companies really don’t want to tow them because someone could be sleeping in the cab or something, so it’s a liability issue.

Get a barnacle so the driver can’t leave until they pay you. Or kill you.

[fattyflattie 4640]

All it takes is a defroster to beat those.