Towing Companies Accused of Overcharging

Mobile, Alabama, like many other cities, set the maximum that a towing company can charge for towing a car.  Often companies attempt to find loopholes in the ordinances and charge more.  Mobile Police has cracked down on this practice:

“Some of these wrecker companies are charging in excess of 25, up to 100 percent more than what the city allows,” said Police Chief Lawrence Battiste. “In many ways they helped open this can of worms by wanting to get more through the ordinance. But as we looked at what they were doing, they were already excessively charging the citizens of this community and the insurance companies.”

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The investigation first came to the attention of law enforcement when representatives from some Mobile towing companies began attending city council meetings and asking officials increase the legally mandated $125 towing fee to $150, the same rate allowed by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, said MPD Assistant Chief Roy Hodge to AL.com.

While overcharging is almost certainly a civil issue, it can also be a criminal problem when insurance is involved:

Each instance of insurance fraud between $1-$1000 would result in a class C felony, Hodge said. That means a possible jail term of anything between one year plus a day to 10 years in the state penitentiary. Over $1000 would results in a class B felony, which carries a sentence of between two and 20 years per instance of fraud.

Also, it is important to note that the problem is not just confined to tows after wrecks.  Overcharging can also arise when a car is towed for other reasons – like repossessions and tows from pay lots.