- Motors
CAN'T BARE IT
After his unfortunate experience, Des Moines Police Department made a request for information from Crow Tow to keep situations like his from happening to others
- Rebecca Lee, Freelance News Reporter
A CAR owner expressed that he felt robbed after being charged $1,000 to get his motorcycle back after it was towed.
After his motorcycle was stolen in April 2023, the driver paid nearly $1,000 to release it from a tow company only to learn his bike was not usable anymore.
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Alex Vergara paid the money to get his 1998 Honda sport motorcycle back just to find that it had been stripped for parts, Axios Des Moines reported.
The motorcycle owner received a letter from Crow Tow in September informing him that he needed to pay over $600 for the still-accruing daily storage fees.
Crow Tow does not allow owners to check on their vehicles before making payments.
Vergara said the company declined to tell him what condition it was in prior to him paying to have it released back to him.
More on towing
It also noted an additional fee of almost $170 for a "premium patrol/outside of town" tow.
He paid the fees but his liability coverage insurance did not cover theft or the towing charges for the resident's motorcycle.
"I got screwed when I got robbed," Vergara stressed
"And then I got legally screwed by these guys who are playing the system."
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Vergara said he chose not to leave the bike unclaimed because Crow Tow's letter warned that he was legally responsible for the charges.
The letter also stated that the towing company may pursue legal options to collect the payments.
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To add to the inconvenience of his circ*mstance, only cash is accepted for private property impounds.
This is in place to combat fraudulent chargebacks on credit or debit cards, Crow Tow explained to Axios Des Moines.
His situation of particular because Iowa towing companies have no legal requirement to check whether vehicles removed from private property are stolen, as his motorcycle was.
This makes Vergara's incident an example of how Iowan drivers can be left with major unexpected expenses even after their property is retrieved.
What to do if your car is towed
Wrongfully or not, retrieving a towed vehicle can be a hassle.
If your vehicle is towed after parking in a "No Parking" zone or other legitimate reason, there are a few steps to take to get it back.
Steps to take when your car is towed:
- Try to figure out why your car was towed. Did you not see a posted "No Parking" sign? Did you miss a car payment? Did you return to a lot where you have unpaid citations? Finding the reason can narrow down the phone numbers to dial.
- Locate the vehicle. Most states, cities, or counties require towing companies to leave some form of contact information via a posted sign or sent by mail.
- Recovery dates and times depend on the company that towed the vehicle, but those times will be posted to the website or can be recited by a representative.
- Pay the fees. Be careful to be as prompt as possible, as some tow yards may charge storage fees by the day.
If you feel your vehicle was wrongfully towed, contesting the action can be done with the following steps:
- Be prompt - many states have a small window of time where it's acceptable to file a complaint against a company that wrongfully towed the vehicle.
- Gather supporting documents: photos, emails, receipts, police reports, and witness statements if applicable. The more evidence, the better.
- Get familiar with your local laws, as laws for towing companies vary per state.
- Try speaking with the towing company. Sometimes it may have been a simple oversight, and the matter can be resolved quickly.
- Contact the Justice of the Peace in your area, as they may have more insight or resources to help. They are often utilized for towing cases.
- Talk to a lawyer. Many lawyers have free case consultations, and depending on the case, it may be worth it to utilize a lawyer.
Source:Oregon Department of Justice,National General,Rak Law Firm
After his unfortunate experience, Des Moines Police Department made a move to look into Crow Tow.
In the summer of 2023, the local police requested that the tow company provide a daily list of VIN numbers of the vehicles it collects on private properties.
Crow Tow didn't have any legal requirements to comply with the law enforcement agency's request.
Despite that, the tow company did "out of goodwill," owner Randy Crow said in a statement to Axios.
Read More on The US Sun
"I got screwed when I got robbed and then I got legally screwed by these guys who are playing the system."
Alex VergaraAxios Des Moines
Since receiving the VIN numbers, DMPD started checking the VIN numbers against a national stolen vehicle database.
This is an action the police take to try and keep situations like Vergara's from happening, Sergeant Paul Parizek told Axios.
