Section 319.03. Charges for towing and storage.

 

(1)   Towing service fees. A towing service may charge a vehicle owner ordinary and reasonable fees related to removal and storage of the vehicle from private property under s. 349.13 (3m) , Stats., except that no charges may exceed the following individual total amounts:

(a) $150 for a vehicle removed using a flatbed, hook and chain, wheel-lift, boom, or any other method.

(b) $25 for each period of 24 consecutive hours that the vehicle is stored at an outdoor storage facility.

(c) $35 for each period of 24 consecutive hours that the vehicle is stored at an indoor storage facility.

(d) $150 for any other necessary and commercially reasonable charges relating to the use of special equipment in the removal or storage, or both, of the vehicle, and for any expenses incurred by the towing service relating to travel exceeding twenty miles. Administrative fees, gate fees, lien processing fees, or any other fees for equipment or procedures ordinarily required for the removal or storage of a vehicle may not be charged under this paragraph. A towing service may collect charges under this paragraph only if any of the following applies:

1. The removed vehicle possesses unusual characteristics, such as size or mechanical condition that make the maximum removal charge under par. (a) unreasonably low, or has a gross vehicle weight rating or registered weight of 10,001 pounds or more.

2. The location in which the removed vehicle was parked contains certain spatial constraints or limited access to the parked vehicle impeding the tow that make the maximum removal charge under par. (a) unreasonably low.

3. The roundtrip travel by the towing service exceeds 20 miles. A towing service may charge a surcharge of $3.00 per mile under this subdivision for miles in excess of twenty miles. Mileage is based on roundtrip mileage from the storage facility to return thereto. The towing service shall establish the mileage from the tow truck odometer and shall include on the tow slip the beginning and ending odometer readings to the 1/10 per mile. If the tow truck is dispatched from a location other than the storage facility, the one-way mileage between the location from which the vehicle is removed and the storage facility shall be multiplied by two. Mileage fractions less than 5/10 shall be omitted, and mileage fractions of 5/10 or more shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number.

(2)   Municipal service fee. If requested under s. 349.13 (3m) (dm) , Stats., by the municipality in which the removed vehicle was illegally parked, the towing service shall charge the vehicle owner a service fee not exceeding $35 and shall remit this service fee to the municipality. The fee under this subsection is in addition to any fees charged under sub. (1) .

(3)   Tow fee. If the fee under sub. (2) is requested by a municipality, the towing service may charge the vehicle owner a service fee not exceeding the fee amount remitted to the municipality under sub. (2) . The fee under this subsection is in addition to any fees charged under subs. (1) and (2) .

(4)   Storage period. The storage period is the number of consecutive 24-hour periods beginning on the date and time that the towing service provides the notice required under s. Trans 319.05 (1) and ending when the vehicle is retrieved, rounded up to the nearest whole number. No towing service may charge a storage fee for any calendar day that the storage facility is open less than 4 consecutive hours between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., for retrieval of the vehicle.

EmR1425 : emerg. cr., eff. 10-2-14; EmR1514 : emerg. cr., eff. 4-30-15; EmR1606 : emerg. cr., eff. 1-22-16; CR 15-044 : cr. Register January 2016 No. 721 , eff. 2-1-16.

Note

The daily storage charge under par. (b) or (c) can be collected by a towing service the first minute after notice of the tow is given to a law enforcement agency by the towing service. A second daily storage charge cannot be collected until 24 hours after the time at which notice is given to law enforcement, subject to the limits for closed storage facilities specified in s. Trans 319.03 (4) . Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Pursuant to s. 349.13 (3m) (dr) 2. , Stats., a towing service is prohibited from collecting any charges for the removal or storage of an illegally parked vehicle towed under s. 349.13 (3m) , Stats., if the towing service has not complied with the requirement under s. 349.13 (3m) (d) 2. , Stats., to notify law enforcement prior to removing the vehicle. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 In general, the storage charge is the whole number of days from towing until retrieval, multiplied by the storage charge rate specified under s. Trans 319.03 (1) (b) or (c) . However, this subsection prohibits a daily storage charge for any calendar day during which the storage facility is open less than 4 consecutive hours between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. for vehicle retrieval. For example, consider a vehicle towed at 10:20 p.m. on Friday and retrieved at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, and stored at a facility that is open for vehicle retrieval on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., closed Sunday, and open Monday from 10:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. The vehicle was stored for a period of three days, but the vehicle owner cannot be charged for one of those days of storage since the storage facility was not open for vehicle retrieval on Sunday; only two days of storage are chargeable by the towing service. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1