May 3, 2005 9:49 pm US/Central
Alderman Wants To Stop Towing Hustle
CHICAGO (CBS 2) ―
A Chicago alderman is calling for law enforcement agencies to investigate abuses by private towing companies. He says state regulators are doing little to protect car owners. The call for action follows disclosures by the CBS 2 Investigators that some companies are towing legally parked cars to collect a fee. Pam Zekman has a follow-up to her report on the towing hustle.
We tried to talk with Richard Gacho, manager of New City Towing, about his alleged illegal towing tactics.
"We have complaints from people who say they were legally parked and you towed them anyway, why did you do that?" Pam Zekman asked.
"You ain't got no complaints," Gacho said. "Get away, lady. Please."
Now Ald. Anthony Beale says he's been complaining for months about New City illegally towing cars in the ninth ward -- and gotten little help from the
Illinois Commerce Commission, the state agency that regulates towing companies.
"I think the attorney general needs to get involved along with the State's attorney to go after New City Towing for towing these cars illegally," Beale said.
The ICC has only three investigators to monitor 60 towing companies. As a result, it takes three months before they even begin investigating a car owner's complaint.
"Fifteen percent of the time we find in their favor," ICC police chief Zachary Wilson said. "Most of the time, in fact, we find the complaints were not legitimate." Or could not be proven because it was the car owner's word against the tow truck driver.
"A lot of your answers sound like you are very protective of the industry. What about the car owners?" Zekman asked Wilson.
"If I do seem protective of the industry, it's because I know it's a legitimate business. I know most of them follow the rules," he said. "Occasionally you get some people that aren't, and those are the people that we are trying to get rid of."
They're not trying hard enough says Mark Hauser. His car was towed from his parking spot behind his home by Rendered Towing Services, which has a contract with Hauser's neighbor.
At the Rendered lot, Hauser was given just two options: "Pay or leave, basically," Hauser said.
He paid the $125 towing fee, then, like others, filed a complaint with the ICC against Rendered. But at the ICC, only those like Hauser, with witnesses to corroborate their complaints, get refunds.
Alderman Beale says those refunds aren't enough. "Some hefty fines need to be put in place to discourage them from towing these cars illegally," he said. "Because right now they're just renegades towing cars at will."
Renegades, he says, like Gacho, an ex-felon with interesting credentials for a tow truck driver.
"You have convictions for being in possession of a stolen car," Zekman tells Gacho.
"Lady, how much does this mic cost? Because I'm about to pull the money out of my pocket and give it to you and throw this on the roof if you don't leave me alone," he said.
In response to our inquiry, the ICC last week issued a ruling that some 80 contracts New City has to tow cars are invalid because they are not with the property owners. Officials say that means New City may have to pay refunds to hundreds of car owners. New City is expected to appeal the decision.
(© MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc., All Rights Reserved.)
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