Local auto towers say NJ fines are unfair

Six towing companies, including two in Monmouth County, have agreed to pay a total $55,106 to settle allegations that they violated the state’s predatory towing law.

“Imagine returning to a parking lot and finding your car gone, and being left stranded,” state Attorney General John J. Hoffman said in a statement. “Even worse, imagine if warning signs were either not posted or inadequate, in violation of our Predatory Towing Prevention Act.”

But the owners of the two Jersey Shore towing companies, J&R Sunoco in Middletown’s Belford section, and SRS Towing in Neptune, said they settled the cases without any admission of wrongdoing.

The state’s predatory towing law regulates towing from private property, such as parking lots, and police-ordered towing. Among other things, it prohibits towing companies from charging excessive fees and trolling for vehicles parked without authorization.

Unattended cars cannot be towed from private lots unless there is a sign posted at the entrances to the lot. For instance, it must state that unauthorized parking is prohibited, the name and contact information for the towing company and the times when a vehicle can be retrieved.

J&R Sunoco, the trade name for Jim & Renee Enterprises Inc., agreed to pay $15,000 to settle allegations that it engaged in towing without having a contract with the private property owners, engaged in towing in a location without proper signage and failed to keep copies of all invoices, logs and receipts for three years, the state said.

Jim Baumann, owner of J&R Sunoco, said the allegations date back several years. Baumann said his company didn’t violate the law. “We fought it and we just settled to stop spending money on attorneys’ fees,” he said. “We never did anything wrong.”

New rules

After the state passed the predatory towing act, it didn’t tell towing companies about the rules, such as requirements for signage, he said. His company has a contract to tow cars from Airport Plaza in Hazlet, he added.

“There was clearly no violation of the law other than some technicalities on sign size,” Baumann said. “We were clearly the victim.”

SRS Autoplex Corp., which does business as SRS Towing, agreed to pay $4,200 to settle allegations that it towed vehicles in a location that lacked proper signage and failed to maintain all required records, including invoices for towing services, the state said.

SRS Autoplex owner Jack Guire III said the allegations date back to 2012. The company did not have the proper hours listed on its sign. It also lost some records, which were stored on a computer, as a result of a power surge during superstorm Sandy, he said.

“We scan everything on our computers and something happened with the electrical system and we took a power surge,” Guire said. “It was a matter that we were missing nine invoices” from 2010, he added.

The other companies who settled with the state are JAB Towing, Newark, $13,906; JH C2C Corp., doing business as Coast to Coast Towing, Irvington, $15,000; Parking Lot and Towing Mgmt. LLC, West Orange, $2,000; and Rite Away Towing, Newark, $5,000. None of the companies admitted wrongdoing.

The money consists of civil penalties, consumer restitution and reimbursement for the state’s investigative and legal costs.

In its statement, the state Division of Consumer Affairs said the settlement agreements with the six towing companies were filed were between November 2014 and April 2015.

“Consumers who have their cars towed should be able to easily determine when and where the car can be picked up, and should not be subject to excessive fees or hidden charges,” said Steve Lee, acting director.

David P. Willis: 732-643-4039; dwillis@gannettnj.com.