Office of Consumer Protection

“On June 16, 2026, the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners voted to increase the following tow rates by resolution:

• Class A Private Property Trespass Tow Rate: $175
• Class A Private Property Trespass Tow Mileage Rate: $6
• Class A Daily Storage Rate: $35

See new Pinellas County Towing Rates effective June 16, 2026

On July 21, 2026, the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners adopted Ordinance 26-21.

Effective July 24, 2026, Chapter 122 of the Pinellas County Code was amended to include the following:

• the addition of an emergency fuel surcharge during periods of extreme fuel price spikes;
• the addition of an electric vehicle fee;
• the implementation of CPI-based annual adjustments to base rates;
• and the requirement for separate local rate signage placed contiguous to signage mandated under F.S. 715.07.

See updates Pinellas County Ordinance 26-21

In a continued effort to increase fraud prevention and public awareness, Consumer Protection held 82 educational outreach events during the first half of FY26.  Addressing key topics including scams, identity theft, budgeting, auto buying/repair, and more.

During that time, Consumer Protection hosted four free community shredding events. Three of which were dedicated events for Fraud Awareness Week, Identity Theft Awareness Week, and National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW). When possible, Consumer Protection partners with other municipalities and/or agencies on such events. Recent collaborations include partnering with the City of Pinellas Park for the NCPW shred event and a joint shredding and medication disposal event with the City of Safety Harbor and Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. A total of 676 residents participated in the shred events, 33,600 lbs. of documents were shredded, and the Sheriff’s office collected 5 bags of unused or expired medications.

Such events help safeguard people’s information, prevent fraud, and have a positive impact on the environment.

Through collaborative departmental and community efforts, Consumer Protection was recently recognized for its efforts in reporting Fraud Schemes related to the Affordable Care Act. Recently, and Executive Vice President of an Insurance Brokerage plead guilty in a $133M Fraud Scheme which targeted many vulnerable, low-income individuals experiencing homelessness, unemployment and mental health and substance use diagnoses. Pinellas County Consumer Protection was one of the first entities raise these concerns to officials.