August 10, 2026 • 6 mins
Ever parked somewhere for a couple of hours, came back, and your car had a boot on it? Then they hit you with a $450 fee, plus a card fee, plus an after hours fee? It sounds made up, but for many North Carolinians, it's reality. Today we're looking at why towing and booting has become such a hot topic, what the law actually says, and why state leaders are trying to change it.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
How aren't I know it all?
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Welcome back to another episode of the most anticipated podcast
on the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
It's titled I didn't know. Maybe you didn't either.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
I'm your host B Dots and I reside in Charlotte's,
North Carolina, and I don't know how it looks in
your city, but there's an epidemic in the seven O
four the tow truck companies. Man, it's a video on
my Instagram right now, and that's B Dots TV B
d a ht TV.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
But it's showing a parking lot and every car in
the parking.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Lot got a boot on it, like an eight h
three Fresh song, whoa boots on the ground. But it
ain't no lion dancing going on though, just a bunch
of parasites with tow trucks tax ind that hell out
of you to get that boot off. I remember one
time I was in Baltimore with my brother Bob, who
was in a Ravens game.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
My brother Anthony Levine, he played for the Ravens.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
He a coach now they call him Cocap, but he
helped me up with some tickets. I parked in the
neighborhood where I saw everybody else parking for the game.
We walked to the game, enjoyed ourselves the Ravens won.
Heading back to the car, and when we got to
the spot where the car was at, wasn't no car.
That's the scariest feeling ever, cause you know you've parked
your car right here, but your car not here. No
(01:17):
more was it stolen? Was it told? If it was told,
where the hell was it told to?
Speaker 1 (01:22):
I'm not from Baltimore.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
We found a light pole that had a sign on
it that told us what tow truck company has stolen
our damn car. The GPS said it was about a
mile and a half away. So on foot, me and
Bob walking through the streets of Baltimore with our phones
out using our GPS, just.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Looking like food.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
I really remember playing God, Please don't let us get
robbed out here in Baltimore. I need my money so
that I can get my car from the tow truck company.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
From what I remember, I ain't doing us too dirty
like toot eighty to get the car. And we were gone.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
But Charlotte, North Carolina, then tow truck companies don't play
the same games. Somebody put in my comments that they
got charged faux fifty to get the boot off. Because
they didn't have cash, they were taxed the twenty percent
service fee for the car.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
That's another one hundred dollars.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
And because it was two am after the club, they
hit them with a two hundred and fifty dollars service
fee for operating after hours.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
That's eight hundred dollars just to get a boot off
your car. That's got to be illegal, man.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
But before we find out if it is or if
it ain't, it's imperative I give you three of the
most useless facts you'll never need, never, not a day
in life about toning and boot up. First, the very
first tow truck was invented because a car got stuck
in a creek yep back in nineteen sixteen in Chattanooga.
(02:45):
It was a mechanic named Ernest Holmes Senior. He designed
the first practical tow truck after needing six men and
ropes and hours of work to pull a car out
of a creek.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
That invention launched the modern day toning industry. Thank you, Ernest.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
And in the spirit if I didn't know, maybe you
didn't either, I wanted to give us credit for this one.
But even though his name is Ernest, he's not black.
He was a white man born in Alabama. Your second
useless fact, the wheel boots is stupid, but it was
founded in Denver. Some folks even call it the Denver Boot.
It was invented in the nineteen fifties by a musician
(03:23):
and an inventive named Frank Moreau. The city of Denver
just needed a way to deal with the repeat parking
offenders without towing every single vehicle.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
They invented that dumb ass Denver boot.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
And your third useless fact about towing, North Carolina has
no state wide cap on most passenger vehicle towing or.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Boot removal feeds. See some states they limit what toe
companies can charge.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
North Carolina historically has left most pricing to the market.
That's why two people can have two very different experiences
when it comes to a towing situation.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
And very different bills. That's one reason.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
And while lawmakers have been pushing for additional state wide oversight,
did you know that because I didn't I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
I didn't know. I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
I didn't know. I didn't know. Man no cap.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
This seemed like tow trucks be having more confidence than
the police. They don't ask no questions, they don't negotiate,
they just hook your car.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Like an old child support and gone.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
The video on my Instagram page ain't doing nowhere near
the numbers of the videos I see on TikTok.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
It's Hella Sharlatans that.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Been gone viral showing parking lots with row after row
of car after car, every car in the parking lot
wearing boots like they're going to a Beyonce concert, and
the fiends hundreds of dollars just to get your own
car back. And my question is can they really charge
whatever they want? And the answer is.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Almost See if you.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Park on private property where the rules are clearly posting,
the property owner can authorize a towing or a booting.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Company to remove or immobilize your whip.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Now, the surprising part is that North Carolina historically has
not had a state wide cap on what companies can
charge to boot or to tow. Most passenger vehicles, now,
what's a passenger vehicle. That's a car that you drive
around with a passenger in. It's not a commercial vehicle.
It's not a tractor trailer, it's not a commercial truck.
It's your houndr cord, your BMW. And that's why you
(05:31):
didn heard stories about people paying fox hundred, six hundred,
even over one thousand dollars one service fees and storage
fees and other charges get added.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
But here go to plot twists.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Man, The complaints in god so loud that the lawmakers
then started paying attention, y'all. They started introducing bills that
create more oversight or the towing industry established licensing give
the state authority to regulate or limit certain fees. Do
you know who the Attorney General of North Carolina is
if not, his name's Jeff Jackson, and he has already
spoken publicly about consumer protection issues and has encouraged people
(06:05):
like us to report these scamming as TOE companies, while
the lawmakers continue debating about larger towing reforms.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
So if you've ever thought, man, it's.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Got to be a law against this, you is not
the only one, because don't nothing ruin your night fast
and it coming out and seeing that your car is
still there, but it's gonna cost you about eight hundred
dollars to move it ten feet? What But until the
reforms happened. Your best defense is very simple. Read the
parking signs, take a picture where you parked, and if
(06:35):
your vehicle is booted or toad. Document everything before you
pay anything. And I didn't know, maybe you didn't either.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
I
How aren't I know it all?
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Welcome back to another episode of the most anticipated podcast
on the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
It's titled I didn't know. Maybe you didn't either.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
I'm your host B Dots and I reside in Charlotte's,
North Carolina, and I don't know how it looks in
your city, but there's an epidemic in the seven O
four the tow truck companies. Man, it's a video on
my Instagram right now, and that's B Dots TV B
d a ht TV.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
But it's showing a parking lot and every car in
the parking.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Lot got a boot on it, like an eight h
three Fresh song, whoa boots on the ground. But it
ain't no lion dancing going on though, just a bunch
of parasites with tow trucks tax ind that hell out
of you to get that boot off. I remember one
time I was in Baltimore with my brother Bob, who
was in a Ravens game.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
My brother Anthony Levine, he played for the Ravens.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
He a coach now they call him Cocap, but he
helped me up with some tickets. I parked in the
neighborhood where I saw everybody else parking for the game.
We walked to the game, enjoyed ourselves the Ravens won.
Heading back to the car, and when we got to
the spot where the car was at, wasn't no car.
That's the scariest feeling ever, cause you know you've parked
your car right here, but your car not here. No
(01:17):
more was it stolen? Was it told? If it was told,
where the hell was it told to?
Speaker 1 (01:22):
I'm not from Baltimore.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
We found a light pole that had a sign on
it that told us what tow truck company has stolen
our damn car. The GPS said it was about a
mile and a half away. So on foot, me and
Bob walking through the streets of Baltimore with our phones
out using our GPS, just.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Looking like food.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
I really remember playing God, Please don't let us get
robbed out here in Baltimore. I need my money so
that I can get my car from the tow truck company.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
From what I remember, I ain't doing us too dirty
like toot eighty to get the car. And we were gone.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
But Charlotte, North Carolina, then tow truck companies don't play
the same games. Somebody put in my comments that they
got charged faux fifty to get the boot off. Because
they didn't have cash, they were taxed the twenty percent
service fee for the car.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
That's another one hundred dollars.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
And because it was two am after the club, they
hit them with a two hundred and fifty dollars service
fee for operating after hours.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
That's eight hundred dollars just to get a boot off
your car. That's got to be illegal, man.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
But before we find out if it is or if
it ain't, it's imperative I give you three of the
most useless facts you'll never need, never, not a day
in life about toning and boot up. First, the very
first tow truck was invented because a car got stuck
in a creek yep back in nineteen sixteen in Chattanooga.
(02:45):
It was a mechanic named Ernest Holmes Senior. He designed
the first practical tow truck after needing six men and
ropes and hours of work to pull a car out
of a creek.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
That invention launched the modern day toning industry. Thank you, Ernest.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
And in the spirit if I didn't know, maybe you
didn't either, I wanted to give us credit for this one.
But even though his name is Ernest, he's not black.
He was a white man born in Alabama. Your second
useless fact, the wheel boots is stupid, but it was
founded in Denver. Some folks even call it the Denver Boot.
It was invented in the nineteen fifties by a musician
(03:23):
and an inventive named Frank Moreau. The city of Denver
just needed a way to deal with the repeat parking
offenders without towing every single vehicle.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
They invented that dumb ass Denver boot.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
And your third useless fact about towing, North Carolina has
no state wide cap on most passenger vehicle towing or.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Boot removal feeds. See some states they limit what toe
companies can charge.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
North Carolina historically has left most pricing to the market.
That's why two people can have two very different experiences
when it comes to a towing situation.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
And very different bills. That's one reason.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
And while lawmakers have been pushing for additional state wide oversight,
did you know that because I didn't I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
I didn't know. I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
I didn't know. I didn't know. Man no cap.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
This seemed like tow trucks be having more confidence than
the police. They don't ask no questions, they don't negotiate,
they just hook your car.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Like an old child support and gone.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
The video on my Instagram page ain't doing nowhere near
the numbers of the videos I see on TikTok.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
It's Hella Sharlatans that.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Been gone viral showing parking lots with row after row
of car after car, every car in the parking lot
wearing boots like they're going to a Beyonce concert, and
the fiends hundreds of dollars just to get your own
car back. And my question is can they really charge
whatever they want? And the answer is.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Almost See if you.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Park on private property where the rules are clearly posting,
the property owner can authorize a towing or a booting.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Company to remove or immobilize your whip.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Now, the surprising part is that North Carolina historically has
not had a state wide cap on what companies can
charge to boot or to tow. Most passenger vehicles, now,
what's a passenger vehicle. That's a car that you drive
around with a passenger in. It's not a commercial vehicle.
It's not a tractor trailer, it's not a commercial truck.
It's your houndr cord, your BMW. And that's why you
(05:31):
didn heard stories about people paying fox hundred, six hundred,
even over one thousand dollars one service fees and storage
fees and other charges get added.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
But here go to plot twists.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Man, The complaints in god so loud that the lawmakers
then started paying attention, y'all. They started introducing bills that
create more oversight or the towing industry established licensing give
the state authority to regulate or limit certain fees. Do
you know who the Attorney General of North Carolina is
if not, his name's Jeff Jackson, and he has already
spoken publicly about consumer protection issues and has encouraged people
(06:05):
like us to report these scamming as TOE companies, while
the lawmakers continue debating about larger towing reforms.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
So if you've ever thought, man, it's.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Got to be a law against this, you is not
the only one, because don't nothing ruin your night fast
and it coming out and seeing that your car is
still there, but it's gonna cost you about eight hundred
dollars to move it ten feet? What But until the
reforms happened. Your best defense is very simple. Read the
parking signs, take a picture where you parked, and if
(06:35):
your vehicle is booted or toad. Document everything before you
pay anything. And I didn't know, maybe you didn't either.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
I
Host
Brian "B Daht" McLaughlin
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