Controversy – This is how you can have illegal parkers towed away without paying in advance

The legal situation is clear: You can have third-party vehicles towed away that are parked on your property without authorisation . The associated BGH judgment also stipulates that the affected cars only have to be handed over against payment of the towing costs.

The justification: Whoever parks without authorization commits a so-called “prohibited personal power” according to § 858 BGB, because he “interferes with the owner of the parking lot in his possession”. Even if the parking space is only rented or leased, you are considered the owner and may have the third-party vehicle removed by way of self-help. Here § 859 BGB grants a so-called self-help right.

The driver or owner of the wrongly parked vehicle must pay the costs. Important: This does not apply to public parking spaces. If someone parks on a public street in such a way that you cannot drive on your property, you must contact the law enforcement agencies. Everything else can be clarified free of charge with the parking emergency call app.

This is how the parking emergency call works

Although the right is on the side of the parking lot owner, the only problem so far has been that you as the owner first have to advance the money for the tow truck and then have to repeat it from the illegal parker. The Parknotruf app takes care of that for you. It is available for Android and iOS and it wants to automatically solve the procedure for parking illegally on private property. Users have to register and enter a zip code in the first step.

Unfortunately, you still often get the message that the service does not exist in the specified area. Around 40 German cities have been covered so far. Around 10,000 users are registered with Parknotruf and the app should soon work in even more cities.

If you live in the development area, the use should work in three steps:

1. Report illegal parking: Photograph the illegal parker (front and side) and report him via the app.
2. Towing service is coming: A towing service that works with Parknotruf will be notified automatically.
3. App handles processing: The costs for this are charged to the illegal parker, users should no longer have to worry about anything. This also applies if the illegal parker has already moved away, the app then calculates an empty trip.

Anyone who parks incorrectly and comes across a user of the parking emergency call can release their car again via the website. He is made aware of a sign with a QR code that app users get from Parknotruf and attach to the parking space.

On the website you have to type in the number plate, then you will find out the location of the vehicle as well as the amount to be paid and the payment options. Standard are PayPal and credit card, but you can also transfer the amount due.

After one working day, Parknotruf submits a request to the responsible registration office to find out the name and address of the vehicle owner. The costs for this plus the towing costs will then be charged. If there is a further delay in payment, the case will be referred to a law firm, which will result in additional costs.

Dispute over towing fees

No one likes being towed away and the subject of parking is emotional anyway. Accordingly, there are also lawsuits against the app. The Wartentest Foundation questions the admissibility of the promises made by the parking emergency call and refers to two judgments by the district court in Hamburg-Barmbek, in which claims for payment for towing were rejected.

The makers of Parknotruf, on the other hand, explain that they only charge the customary local costs that are charged in the respective city for towing a vehicle. However, the app earns money with commissions from towing companies. In the event of a lawsuit, towing companies must prove that the costs are reasonable.

The original of this post “This is how you can have illegal parkers towed away without paying in advance” comes from chip.de.