IATD asks Congressman Tim Scott for Bill to Revoke the Tax Credit for Low-Income Housing Developments that Employ Predatory Towers.

IATD has asked Congressman Tim Scott to consider proposing a bill to revoke the tax credit from low-income housing developments that employ predatory towers.

I Am the Discarded has been a long time proponent of stopping predatory towers who target low income communities that often times cannot afford to fight their unethical practices. These abusive towing practices have left some tenants homeless as they cannot pay rent after their vehicle has been towed twice within the same week by towing companies that are creative at night maneuvers such as lifting a vehicle over the line, snapping a photo and wha-lla, towing a vehicle that was parked perfectly within the lines, Other tenants report having visible paper tags removed or stickers being removed. These companies are money hungry and will tow cars illegally at the drop of a hat.

Towing company operators are also allowed to carry firearms which makes for a volatile mix when it comes to emotions of vehicle owners who know that they parked their vehicles correctly, and that a shake down is underway.

The most financially vulnerable tenants fall prey to these towing and racketeering operations that have even been caught giving kick backs to property managers.One of the most notorious, predatory towing companies operating in the Carolinas, South and North Carolina is Cole Towing who recently underwent a name change to Southern Pride Towing. Chris Cole, has a violet history with arrests for assault, ty vehicle theft, and other illegal infractions. However, this man continues to stay gainfully employed by signing agreements with apartment complexes where low income residents live. How often have you seen developers, managers from affluent apartments sign these same unfair, overreaching contracts with towing companies?

IATD obtained a string of text messages between an apartment manager and Christopher Cole, owner. He wrote that he would get over $30, 000 dollars out of a small community of seniors citizens and disabled tenants with the span of six months. Coincidently, the same community is 90 percent Black. In the same email, Chris Cole wrote that the tenants were monkeys and jigga-boos.

Because of the fact that the towing industry is largely unregulated, or the current regulations aren’t being enforced, laws and rules are often times skirted to the detriment of improvised individuals already living paycheck to paycheck. This means a single towing incident including storage fees could run into a thousand dollars as often reported at Tenants Against Predatory Towing (TAPT), a Facebook IATD started to open a community discussion about the experiences of victims of predatory towing. This type of setback could jeopardize a victim of predatory towing ability to pay rent