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Lawmakers hear bills to limit nonconsensual towing, change abandoned-vehicle rules
Summary
Rep. Barbara Rachelson told the House Commerce & Economic Development Committee she has two bills (H268 and H329) aimed at consumer protections for towed vehicles, including lengthening abandonment timeframes, adding notice and appeal rights, capping certain towing/storage charges and establishing how sale proceeds are distributed.
Representative Barbara Rachelson presented two bills to the House Committee on Commerce & Economic Development on April 1 seeking to change how Vermont handles towed and so-called abandoned vehicles and to add consumer protections for people whose cars are towed.
Rachelson said the bills — H329 focuses on abandoned-vehicle processes and H268 focuses on consumer-protection and transparency measures — respond to frequent constituent complaints that vehicles removed by towers are treated as abandoned too quickly and that owners often do not receive adequate notice or timely access to personal property inside a towed vehicle.
The proposals Rachelson described include lengthening the 48-hour abandonment trigger now in state practice, requiring more…
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