Bandit Tow Truck Scams

Towing vehicles is a legitimate business that services the needs of the customer. So what is all this talk about a towing scam called bandit towing? Bandit tow truck operators are differentiated from legitimate tow operators in their practice of monitoring private parking lots in order to tow away vehicles whose owners are not patrons of the businesses associated with that lot. Often, the tow operators dismiss the fact that the car owner does patronize a business associated with the lot before going elsewhere.

Everyday, the Police Departments all over the country receive complaints from individuals who had their car towed out of a private parking lot when they "just went around the corner" for a cup of coffee or a newspaper, usually after patronizing a business associated with the parking lot. When the individual returns to their car, it is either gone or in the process of being towed. A large fee, which grows each day the car is held in an impound lot, is attached with this significant inconvenience.

Under most state and provincial laws, property owners have the right to remove cars from their private parking lots after the car has been parked there for more than one hour. The property owner, representative, or agent must be present at the scene of impound to sign the authorization. ‘Bandit’tow truck operators have interpreted this law in a way which is financially lucrative for their companies.

When I lived in a townhouse complex in Toronto in the 1970s and 1980s, I was the parking administrator and I had the authority to tow cars illegally parked in resident’s parking spots or cars that were not being driven and were simply stored on the property. Over the years, I ordered several hundred cars towed. In one case, the car that was towed was brand new. I told the man where his car was being stored in the pound. Instead of retrieving it, he insisted that I retrieve it after paying the towing charges. Naturally I refused. Three months later, it was still in the pound. Then it was put up for auction since the pound had a lien on it. The owner was informed and he had to bid against others for his car. He finally got it back after he paid several thousand dollars for storage fees.

If you are a victim of a ‘bandit’ tow truck operator, remember these facts: The tow truck operator does not have a legal lien on your vehicle until it is in transit on a public highway.

• If you car is already on the tow truck, but still in the parking lot, the tow operator can ask you for half of what an Official Police Garage would charge for towing.
• If you will not or cannot pay the requested amount, the issue becomes a civil matter, and the tow operator must release your vehicle.
• If the tow operator leaves the lot with your vehicle because you would not or could not pay the requested amount, the tow operator is in violation of many US State codes, which is taking a vehicle without the owner's consent.

Efforts are underway to legislatively amend Federal law to end this loophole in which "bandit" tow truck operators have been able to use to their advantage.
Who has the right to tow your vehicle in the United States?

Prior to 1995, local law enforcement had the ability to regulate towing businesses by enacting ordinances that governed their activities as to price, route and service. This was accomplished by imposing local permit requirement's, that made it a misdemeanor offense to operate a towing business within a local municipality without a permit issued by that municipality, or to violate other regulatory provisions of the ordinance. Each state is different and one should review the local ordinances for confirmation.

In 1995, the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAA) was enacted which effectively deregulated the motor carrier transport industry by preempting local government from imposing a permit scheme via local ordinance to regulate motor carriers, which included tow trucks. Large motor carrier transport business were successful in lobbying for this federal law claiming they were over regulated by having to obtain a permit in each city in which they conduct business across the United States.

Most of the complaints investigated by local authorities are after the incident has occurred, when the victim's vehicle has been towed and is stored in a tow yard for an inflated rate. Authorities must then determine through an investigation if the towing company was authorized to remove the vehicle. Determining who authorized an impound, if anyone, and was that person a legal representative of the property owner is critical as to whether or not the codes were (Taking a vehicle without an owner's consent) was violated.

One of the common threads in these complaints is that the victims allege their vehicle was towed away after having been parked for only 5 or 10 minutes. It is the property owner's, or their legal representative's, responsibility to wait one hour before having an illegally parked vehicle towed under most state statutes. However, tow truck operators are in essence lying in wait watching the motorist walk away from their parked vehicle to a business other than the one for which the parking is designated. Several minutes after the motorist walks away from their vehicle, a tow truck is quick to tow the vehicle away.

In an effort to aggressively address this problem, some jurisdictions have conducted "sting" operations utilizing undercover police officers posing as motorists that have parked their vehicle on private property. When a tow truck arrives to remove the officer's vehicle, the undercover officer returns and demands their car be released without charge. If the tow truck driver refuses and takes off with the car, the tow truck driver is arrested for violation of local or state Vehicle Codes (Taking A Vehicle Without Consent). Commission Investigation Division is increasing the frequency of these "sting" operations to send the clear message that the Los Angeles Police Department is committed to using all resources available to deter unscrupulous towing operations from engaging in this illegal activity.
Towing Scams: and companies violating the law.

Who has the right to tow your vehicle?

The worst news a motorist can get is that his or her vehicle has been towed to a storage lot that is closed on weekends and the per day storage fee is running at a rate of $30 to $50 a day. Then, when you demand to get your car that day, the storage facility charges you an extra $50 so-called "gate fee." The "gate fee" is to have the person who stays in a trailer on the lot walk to the gate and open it for you. Some times they call it a labor fee and then they tack on a release fee. These tactics and extra charges are illegal under most state laws.

Many of the towing companies skate on a fine line of legality. In the City of Los Angeles, California the Police Commission has jurisdiction over the towing industry if they have police permits. But the towing companies that do not have these LA Police permits can do as they please under new deregulation. But that comes to a sudden stop when they tow cars on city streets. The police call these un-permitted tow trucks "bandit tows." LAPD Detectives have setup "sting operations' to catch the towing companies in the act of breaking state and city regulations and law. Not all, but many towing companies continue to break the laws. The LA Police Commission is keeping a close eye on the "bandit" towing operators who think they can ignore city and state laws and regulations.

Here is a good example, the LA Police Commission's Towing Section received a complaint from a San Fernando Valley resident that his car had been towed to a storage lot in the city of LA and they were over charged for towing, and they were charged a "gate fee" for someone to come to the lot and let them pay the storage fee and get their vehicle. The LA Police Commission told the family that it was illegal to have a gate fee in the City of LA. They said it was a violation of the California Civil Vehicle Code for a towing company to charge more than the fees that the city would charge for the same towing service and storage. (The city fee is $120) In this case the towing company charged more for the tow, more for the storage, and a gate fee than the City would charge. So the company was operating totally in violation of a civil law, but the Police Commission said they could not do anything about it because the Vehicle Code said that it had to be resolved in a civil court. So the Police Commission sent the family a copy of the Vehicle Code and suggested they file against the towing company in Small Claims Court to get their money back. This helps the family though this legal maze, but all this does, is put the "Monkey" of enforcing the civil law on the back of the citizens. However, this is the way your State Law-Makers kept the cops out of the system. The Valley family has to pay to file in court, pay to have the Sheriff's Deputies serve the court documents, and then have to pay the Sheriff's Department again to serve the court judgment if they win. It may take the family months to get any money from the towing company and then they may not even break even in the settlement.

The LAPD says it is a violation of criminal law to tow a vehicle on city streets without the permission of the owner. And under the DMV vehicle code the owner must be given a one-hour grace period when parking on private property. So when a McDonald's has a car or truck towed by a "bandit" tow truck, that has been parked 25-minutes it is a violation of the DMV rules. The towing company must have an operator of the private property signed for each tow. If the towing company already has your car on a truck or hooked up on the private property then they can ask you to pay half of the towing fee to get your vehicle back. Half the fee in LA is $46.50. If you refuse to pay then they can hold your vehicle and take you to civil court for parking it on private property. This will take some time and they will normally win. But most tow companies will not wait to take the matter to court and they will tow your car off on city streets, which is a criminal offense. They can legally tow off private property, but then the company cannot tow on a city street without the permission of the owner. Also the towing companies cannot charge for storage on a vehicle unless they have a lien against it. This is information coming from LAPD and the DMV.

You must also lookout for what I call the Midnight Hookers. These are tow trucks that will illegally hook-up your vehicle off parking lots and tow it to their storage lot. To do this legally they must have the property owner or the owner's representative sign the tow slip at the time the vehicle is towed. They cannot sign a bunch of tow slips the next morning, or sign tow slips in advance to be filled out by the driver. In some cases the tow truck driver has a kick back deal with the security guard at the business. For each tow slip he signs the security guard gets $50. This scam also happens in the middle of the day on private parking lots.
Here's another tip: When you have a tow truck pickup your vehicle, make sure it is taken to the shop where you want it fixed. Many drivers will take your vehicle to a repair shop that pays them a commission on the job. This just means everything will cost you more. Also if you have the shop do the repairs or bodywork make sure they agree to pay for the towing charges.

'Bandit' tow truck drivers are black hat operators who make it a practice to monitor privately owned parking lots in order to tow away cars whose owners are not patronizing businesses associated with that lot. In many instances, the bandit tow truck driver ignores the fact that the cars owner does patronize a business associated with the lot before going to another business.

In the city of Mississauga, Ontario, if you are involved in a motor vehicle collision any licensed tow truck responding to the scene will be required to charge you $230.00 plus HST, no more and no less with no other charges other than the applicable federal and provincial taxes. This fee covers the cost that will be incurred to have your car towed from the accident scene to a location of your choosing. There should be no additional charge for mileage. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can have your car towed hundreds of miles or kilometres away for that price.

Before towing your vehicle, the tow truck driver is also required to fill out and have you sign a ‘Permission to Tow’ form which is to be completed prior to the start of any towing. This form does not commit the vehicle owner to having any work done other than having the vehicle towed and provides a written record as to your intention regarding your intended destination.

Some times tow truck bandits will town someone’s car from private property to a private car pound and then demand a large sum of money to get it back.

The owner of the car can check to see if a ticket was placed on the windshield and that the ticket is a legitimate ticket issued by a bylaw enforcement officer working for the City of Mississauga. If that is so, you will have to pay the pound money to get your car back. But sometimes, tickets are printed to look like official tickets when in fact, they are not and in fact have been issued by a private company that enforces parking regulations on private property. If the ticket was not issued by the City under the authority of the Provincial Offences Act then the vehicle has been towed under Common Law. If that is so, the owner of the vehicle can demand the return of his car and he doesn’t need to pay any fees at that time, but the company that towed the car may seek payment for services in small claims court at a later date, though this is rarely done.

Years ago, I drove a friend to a private pound to pick up his car. It had been towed from private property. The ticket was not issued by a bylaw enforcement officer. The man at the pound demanded money from my client. I told the man that if he didn’t immediately give the keys to my client, I would have him charged under the Criminal Code with being in possession of stolen goods. He tried to call my bluff. I pulled out my cell phone and called the police. While the police were on the phone, the man at the pound handed my friend his keys and he drove his car out of the pound without paying a money at all.

Currently, there is no provincial legislation in Ontario governing tow trucks but there is a Bill before the legislature that has yet to be approved. In that Bill, it states in part;

7. The board may revoke the registration of an operator or a tow truck driver,
(a) if the operator or driver is found guilty of an offence that, if committed in Ontario, would be an offence under the laws of Canada or of Ontario and that renders the person unsuitable to registered;
(b) if the operator or driver fails to comply with this Act, the code of ethics or any other regulation made under this Act.
Metropolitan Toronto has a Municipal Licensing & Standards Division which also licences tow truck operators and drivers.

Of course, anyone can sue a tow truck driver and his firm if their vehicle is taken away when it shouldn’t have been removed. I once represented a man whose vehicle was illegally removed and we got judgment for $2,000 plus costs against the tow truck company.

Years ago, I was on a highway that divided Toronto from Mississauga and my car slowed down and stopped. I called the CAA in which I am a member. I waited for a CAA tow truck to arrive and five minutes later, a tow truck pulled up in front of me. I told him I was surprised that he arrived so quickly since I only called CAA five minutes earlier. He hooked up my car and took it to the garage that I normally deal with. After we arrived, he asked for $200. I told him that I am a member of CAA and I don’t have to pay CAA tow truck drivers for towing my car. He then told me that he wasn’t a CAA tow truck driver and insisted that I pay him $200. The owner of the garage offered to give him a cheque for that amount but he wouldn’t take it. The owner of the garage called the police. The police officer asked the tow tuck driver to show him his tow truck licence. It turned out that he could only tow trucks in Mississauga and not in Toronto where the garage and the highway were located. The man then said, he would release my vehicle and accept the $200 from the garage which he did.

I called the tow truck firm and told them that I was going to sue them and their driver for a thousand dollars in the small claims court. He asked me if we could settle the matter out of court. I told him to send me a cheque for $200.00.
This he did. The CAA also sent me a cheque but I returned their cheque since I had already been paid by the tow truck firm.

Don’t take any nonsense from tow truck drivers if you suspect that they are bandits. If paying them is the only way you can get your car back, then pay them and then sue them in small claims court. You don’t need a lawyer. It is very simple to sue anyone in those courts. Also ask for punitive damages.