30 Extra Minutes Left This Trucker With a $9,000 Tow Bill

Donald Hicklin Jr. had parked his semi-truck at a lot off Sunset Road after a major winter storm hit the area. The truck stayed beyond the free parking limit by about half an hour and was later towed. When Hicklin received the invoice, the total was far beyond what he expected.

The bill listed $7,000 for towing and impound services, $500 for storage and another $1,500 as a gate administrative fee. Hicklin told WSOC-TV he was stunned when he saw the amount and described the charges as excessive and predatory.

The timing makes the story even stranger. North Carolina was under an official state of emergency during the late-January snowstorm. Gov. Josh Stein had asked residents to stay off the roads unless travel was necessary as snow, cold temperatures and dangerous conditions spread across the state. The emergency order was issued on January 29 and remained effective into February.

There is another detail behind the dispute. North Carolina does not set a statewide maximum rate for heavy-duty, nonconsensual towing from private property. Data published by the American Trucking Associations says only 12 states currently set maximum rates for this type of private-property tow involving heavy trucks. In a nonconsensual tow, the driver normally has no opportunity to negotiate the price before the vehicle is removed.

Charlotte once had local limits on some towing charges, but the city says officers stopped enforcing those fee caps after a 2014 North Carolina Supreme Court ruling found that municipalities did not have authority to impose them. Other parts of Charlotte’s towing ordinance, including sign requirements and towing procedures, remain in effect.

North Carolina did make one change for commercial trucks. State law now prohibits wheel boots and similar devices from being used on commercial motor vehicles for parking enforcement. Violating that rule is a Class 2 misdemeanor. The law, however, does not prohibit a commercial truck from being towed from private property.

WSOC-TV reported another point that could become important in the dispute: a sign posted outside the Sunset Road lot showed different prices from those appearing on Hicklin’s final bill.

Charlotte City Councilwoman Dimple Ajmera said she has received several complaints involving private towing practices. She is working with city staff on possible measures, including identifying repeat offenders and referring cases involving suspected predatory towing to the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office.