Aug 31, 2007 8:11 pm US/Central
New State Towing Regulations Curb Accident Chasers
CBS 2 Investigation Found Towing Companies Storing Cars In Lots For Excessive Fees
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) ―
Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Friday signed legislation to protect motorists from towing companies that rip off accident victims, as a result of exposure in a CBS 2 investigation.
Senate Bill 435, sponsored by state Sen. Edward Malnoey (D-Chicago) and Rep. Kevin A. McCarthy (D-Orland Park) regulates the towing of damaged or broken down vehicles from public highways and streets.
2 Investigator Pam Zekman exposed several of these accident chasers between March 2006 and March of this year.
The accident chasers hustle business when you may not be thinking straight, or worse yet, injured in a crash.
"It was immoral," Maloney said. "I mean to take advantage of people in those situations was just unconscionable as far as I'm concerned."
Emily Klear is one such victim. Her car was towed to a storage lot instead of her repair shop, as she instructed.
"I felt like he had stolen it," Klear said.
That's how the rogue towing companies rack up hundreds of dollars in towing, storage and other fees.
Accident victims said at one company, Collision Towing, the staff even impersonated police officers to coerce the victims to pay for the tow. Luis Diaz could not get his car out of a lot until he paid $1800. "And if I did not pay the money to get the car that he was going to have my license suspended," Diaz said he was told.
Jim Athans, the lot owner, denied that charge.
Under the new "Truth in Towing" law, the "safety relocators" that tow cars from accident scenes must be licensed by the Illinois Commerce Commission, and consumer protections are established for disabled or damaged vehicle owners, the governor's office said.
Those protections do not allow a towing company to move the car without a customer's authorization. They also require tow truck operators to provide the following to vehicle owners:
--The address where the vehicle will be towed;
--The cost of towing, storage, and other fees;
--A description of owners' rights, including the right to a final itemized invoice, the right to the vehicle returned during normal business hours, the right to pay either in cash or by credit card, and the right to request proof of insurance.
Under the law the towing companies must have these rights displayed at their storage facility. They also must have the name, address and phone number displayed on their truck, and they must keep records of all invoices and disclosures for five years and provide them to the state if requested, the governor's office said.
In addition, the towing companies may not make drivers sign waivers of liability.
"The last thing anybody should have to worry about after a car accident is whether the person towing their vehicle is going to rip them off and add to their trouble," Gov. Blagojevich said.
If the towing company does not comply with the law, the owner cannot be charged any fees. Those who violate the law can have their licenses suspended and may be fined or prosecuted, the governor's office said.
The bill also extends consumer protections to owners of large trucks towed from private property, according to the governor's office.
"The message is that if you don't do that that there's gonna be problems for your company," Maloney said.
The legislation will take effect on July 1, 2008.
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