UPDATE: Seattle mayor to probe pirate towing -The $800 tow: Why highway robbery is legal in Washington state
Nov 30, 2011, 3:02 PM | Updated: Oct 14, 2024, 4:06 pm
UPDATE: Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn says the city will probe exorbitant towing fees after a Seattle Times report about a local company that legally billed $800 (and could have billed way more) to retrieve his car from a local tow company (original story below.) McGinn says in a statement the high fees “may be legal, but they shouldn’t be.”
“I’ve asked my staff and the Law Department to look into this further to see if there is any action the City can take to regulate or curb these rates. We’re also reviewing the City’s own policies/contracts with towing companies that tow vehicles on City property and City streets.”
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What’s worse than getting your car towed? How about an $800 charge to get it back.
That’s what happened to a Seattle man, who was shocked when he learned how much a company called Citywide Towing wanted to return his Mazda Truck.
Danny Westneat at the Seattle Times broke the story, saying Citywide “wanted $250 an hour, for two hours of work, plus $298.25 in weekend retrieval fees, storage charges and taxes (his final bill was $798.25.)”
But it could have been worse. While the city sets tow rates for public streets, it turns out tow companies can pretty much charge whatever they want on private property. All they have to do is file their fee schedule with the state, and there’s no limit (Westneat reports Citywide’s rate sheet tops out at $600 an hour!)
“Shouldn’t there be some sort of regulation of these fees?” wonders Dave. “And do they have to be consistent?”
“If they tow a Datsun, they might charge $100 an hour but if they tow a Lincoln or Lexus, they might decide to charge $600 hour,” says Dave comparing the practice to hostage taking.
Luke is equally troubled by the practice of tow companies to strike deals with individual businesses and drive around at all hours trolling for cars to tow.
“I’ve met tow truck drivers who are awesome people. I’ve had my car break down and you call them and they come out and fix it and I understand that it serves an important service,” he says.
“But that industry is not, in my mind, regulated enough.”
