Scam Alert: Why you shouldn’t blindly trust Google

Assistant Attorney General Doug Walsh said first results often aren’t the most competitive.

When Ron and Don Nation member Christina Youk got a
flat tire on I-5 in Everett on a recent rainy drive home,
she took out her iPhone and Googled “tow truck” and
“Everett.”

The very first listing that came up was a company
calling itself West Coast Towing. She called the toll free
number promising 15 minute service and the guy told her
he’d be there quickly.

“Two hours and 20 minutes later, two guys and a girl in
a towing truck showed up,” Christina says.

One of them pulled out a blank, generic handwritten
invoice that listed all sorts of seemingly excessive
charges: $225 to lift the car, $125 for their time, $120
for an extra highway fee.

“I looked at it and I was like, ‘This isn’t right. I’ve
never paid that much for towing before.’ And he said,
‘These are standard fees, these are absolutely normal
fees,'” Christina says.

Adding insult to injury, she says the guy then told her
he’d only change the tire for an additional $90. She
balked before agreeing to have him do it for $45.

All told, the total bill came to $580 to tow the car
approximately one mile off the freeway and change her
tire.

“I thought to myself, it’s kind of dark and rainy and I
was cold, and the traffic was really flowing, and I was
really stressed out. I said I don’t want to pay this much,
but I have no choice’,” Christina says.

She ultimately challenged the charges with her credit
card company and got them canceled. Then she contacted The
Ron and Don Show.

It seemed pretty fishy to us, so I called the toll free
number for West Coast Towing. A guy who identified himself
only as Jake (and wouldn’t give me his last name) insisted
the charges were fair, claiming it was an extra dangerous
job.

“When we’re loading a car in the middle of the highway,
we’re taking a risk with our life. And when I take a risk
with my life, I’m going to charge for it.”

But Christina insists her Toyota Camry was actually on
the shoulder, not in the middle of the highway.

“I have not heard of any charges having to do with
danger on the side of the freeway or any highway,” says
Gigi Zenk, spokeswoman for the Washington Department of
Licensing.

While “Jake” told me the company is properly licensed,
he couldn’t give me their business license number or any
other proof.

Zenk says the DOL couldn’t find any documentation that
West Coast Towing was legitimate. She says any licensed
towing company should at the very least display a specific
tow truck license plate, post their license number on the
side of the truck, and provide what’s called a ‘cab card’
with all of their relevant information.

Whether West Coast Towing is breaking any laws or just
unfairly taking advantage of vulnerable people remains to
be seen.

Assistant Washington Attorney General Doug Walsh says
the company could be in violation of consumer protection
laws.

But, he says it’s just the latest twist in a growing
trend of less than legitimate companies in many industries
using sophisticated techniques to get to the top of search
engine listings, then preying on desperate people when
they call.

Walsh says it’s a particularly big problem with
locksmiths, florists, and some home improvement companies,
many of whom pose as being local when they are really out
of state.

“You have to do your homework before you engage
someone. The first one that comes up on your list isn’t
often the most competitive,” Walsh warns.

Christina admits she wishes she’d been more prepared
and enrolled in AAA before she needed help. She’s since
signed up, and says while she’s embarrassed, she came
forward to help prevent others from being taken for a
ride.

“You know, it didn’t come to mind that this is a scam.
I didn’t think of it that way because it just said 24-hour
service towing company.”