Philadelphia city council passes "ticket to tow" bill

PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - Philadelphia city council passed a "ticket to tow" bill reigning in pirate towing companies with only 1 member voting against.

Mitchell Kirschner watches where he parks these days. He remembers last month when his roommate's car was about to get towed.

"He had to pay $250 for them NOT to tow it..to NOT to tow it. They said 250-dollars or we are towing it," he told FOX 29.

And remember back in August when FOX 29 told you about a company that appeared to be towing cars from legal spots.

"These are basically car pirates who go out and steal people's cars right off the street. They've been doing it for a while," Mayor Kenney said last August.

After mounting complaints over rogue towing companies city council is cracking down. The new rules will require cars illegally parked in private driveways or on private property to be ticketed before they can be towed.

But owners of tow companies say the law unfairly lumps the good and bad operators together.

In a letter to city council, one of the biggest names in Philly towing Lew Blum says he provides a valuable service and says his business is being unfairly targeted.

He says,"We move vehicles that are blocking other citizens and business owners from going to work or parking in their customers designated areas. It's easy to hate us and i understand that."

Council asked city administrators to wait 30 days before enforcing the new rules to iron out some wrinkles. 9 agencies will be writing the tickets.