QuestionFirst let me say, I have taken some time to try and do my own research but there seems to be very little documentation on this sort of thing for Anne Arundel County MD.
Lets start at the beginning. I have been living in an apartment complex in laurel MD for almost a year now. I was recently towed for parking in a visitor's parking space while having a resident parking pass. I arrived at 11pm and the car was towed by 1am. There are signs saying Visitor parking only and the fact that i was towed from the spot is a renting issue not a towing issue. During my research i found that Baltimore country requires a phone number and a listing of times the towing company is open. This information is not listed on ANY signs in the apartment complex, is there a similar law for all of MD or just Baltimore county?
Second when we found the company name the next day(Saturday) we arrived at 12:40 which is what we thought a normal business time. It turns out the tow yard is only open from 9am-1pm Monday threw Friday and 8:30 - 12:30 on Sat. Are there minimum standards for a tow yard to be open? We had to persuade her to "comeback" even though her home is the trailer next to the tow yard. Which Brings me to my final question.
We have searched the name of the towing company but cannot find the business name anywhere in MD. When we searched the tow yard address a hair studio and auto body shop turned up. Do towing companies / tow yards need a business and/or towing licence and if so where do i go to find if their information is existing and current?
Thank you for answering my questions.
- Scott
AnswerSo you have found how hard it is to find information for Maryland. I really have no solid information on actual laws there as I am trying to get more information also...
I know that in Anne Arudel county there is some law which affects the towing business and all I have is a code number of 12-3-107 and I can not find it any where online... I also have another code and it is an Maryland code 21-10A-04 which I can not find anything about either.
I am afraid that it might take a trip to Maryland for me to find out the information about impounding vehicles up there.
I know that Baltimore City and County area have some additional regulations on this subject but again I am having trouble finding out the information. I have been searching for a while and been though lots of links and stories but not any relevant information.
I am sorry about this, but it does sound like there are some issues here with business hours also. But unless they are doing business for law enforcement agencies which set yard hours there really is no ruling for setting open hours...
And as to licensing, yes they should be licensed with the state for a business license, tax payment and such. Then the city they are in would require a business license and or some other form of license. And yes some places the trucks have to have "special licenses or permits" displayed on them...
This sounds like one of the shady fly by night companies which give the towing industry a bad name.
