(a) If a vehicle owner returns to an unauthorized vehicle at any time after the vehicle is attached to the tow truck but before it is towed from private property, the towing company must release the vehicle to the owner if the owner pays a release fee as provided in Section 30C-3(c). The towing service must accept payment by cash or credit card as under Section 30C-9(b) and must not charge any other fee for attaching or releasing the vehicle.
(b) A towing company must not charge for releasing an unauthorized vehicle unless the service has physically attached the vehicle to the tow truck and lifted the vehicle at least 6 inches off the ground before the vehicle owner returns. If the towing company has begun to attach the vehicle to the tow truck but has not completed the attachment or lifted the vehicle, the towing company must release the vehicle without charging the owner any fee.
(c) A towing company must not block an unauthorized vehicle with a tow truck to obtain payment from the vehicle owner before attaching the vehicle to the tow truck.
(d) The towing company must provide a receipt that includes a reference to the County Code provisions setting the release fee and meets all of the requirements for receipts under Section 30C-9(e), indicating the release fee paid and the date of the incomplete tow. (1988 L.M.C., ch. 29, § 2; 1997 L.M.C., ch. 21, §1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 40, § 1.)