Collision Towing

Review: My vehicle with a dead tag was towed By Collision Towing services from [redacted] Washington DC [redacted] to their storage at [redacted] Washington DC [redacted], a 1.3 mile distance, on 10-04-2013 at 8.45 PM, today 10-08-2013, I went there to claim my vehicle, I was told that I am owing the towing company $645 dollars, but they can give me a break of $100, so I ended up paying $545. According to their statement, $395 is for towing within 1.3 miles distance and $50 per day storage for 5 days, I told them that it was 4 days, but they insisted that it was 5 days, I had to pay them since they have the upper hand. This exorbitant amount is contrary to DC government stipulated rate for towing and storage, also all the towing vehicle in the yard have lesser rates displayed on them. Below is the amount permitted by DC government website. My truck weight is 3,580 lbs.

How much can a towing company charge for a public tow?**

Standard: vehicles under 8,000 lbs No more than

Preparation, hoist, tow to a place in DC.

$100 per tow

Towing outside the District (standard vehicles)

$3 per mile

Heavy-duty: vehicles over 8,000 lbs No more than**

Preparation, hoist, tow to a place in DC.

$275 per tow

Towing outside the District (heavy duty vehicles)

$6 per mile

Road service

$50 per visit

Disconnect (drop) fee

$50

Storage fee*

Extra Charges (for accident sites or other special situations)

Operator may collect – but get DCRA approval within 72 hours

$20 per 24 hours

*Daily storage fees start when the vehicle gets to the storage lot.

** Or less, if the vehicle is stored less than 24 hours.

[redacted]Private tow rates are listed in the company’s Business License.

How much can a towing company charge for a public tow?[redacted]

Standard: vehicles under 8,000 lbs No more than**

Preparation, hoist, tow to a place in DC. $100 per tow

Towing outside the District (standard vehicles) $3 per mile

Heavy-duty: vehicles over 8,000 lbs No more than**

Preparation, hoist, tow to a place in DC. $275 per tow

Towing outside the District (heavy duty vehicles) $6 per mile

Road service $50 per visit

Disconnect (drop) fee $50

Storage Fee*

Extra Charges (for accident sites or other special situations)

Operator may collect – but get DCRA approval within 72 hours $20 per 24 hours**

* Daily storage fees start when the vehicle gets to the storage lot.

** Or less, if the vehicle is stored less than 24 hours.

[redacted]Private tow rates are listed in the company’s Business License.

Thank youDesired Settlement: This company towed so many people vehicles from that area in the past week, the company should be made to recharge everybody as stipulated by the Government of the District of Columbia and refund the excess charges to all our respective citizens who are hurting and struggling under this harsh economic crisis. Thank you very much.

Review: At approximately 9:45am on the morning of Friday August 29, 2014, I left my house to find that my car had been stolen from the driveway of my residence.

I called the police, and Officer [redacted] of the [redacted] District responded quickly, within 5-7 minutes of the call. I gave him the description of my car from the color of the side view mirrors to the stickers on the outside and the belongings on the inside. He then took my information, VIN number, tag number and both my direct and work phone numbers. He said that I would be notified if my vehicle was recovered.

At 7:32pm on the same date in question, I received a phonecall from my manager saying that an officer called and said that my car was recovered and he needed my direct phone number. My manager said that because of policy, he couldn't give out any of my personal information and that he officer left no return phone number.

I then called 911 to find out the location of my car. The officer that I spoke with said that he had no record of the car being recovered yet.

However, I received a phone call shortly after from an officer, telling me that the location of my car was [redacted] NE, and that the place was called Collision Towing. He told me that my tags were missing. That is the only information that was given at that time, but he said that I could get a copy of my recovery report.

I called Collision Towing at 7:54pm and the man who answered told me that he did, in fact have my car. He informed me that the tags were missing and that I have to call my insurance company to have it towed because it was not drivable. When I asked him why exactly my car was not able to be driven, he responded with, "You need to call back on Tuesday." I told him that my car was stolen and that I need to know what damages were done that it can't be driven. He then responded,"I told you to call back on Tuesday! I have 4 other lines! St!" And then he hung up on me.

The following day, Saturday August 30, 2014 between 1:30 and 2pm, I went to Collision Towing. I called for the assistance of an Officer. His name was Officer James. I was under the impression from the sign that they serviced 24 hours per day. The officer called the man and he informed us of a sign that states that automobiles are released Monday through Friday from 8am to 4pm and that there was not releasing of vehicles on Saturday or Sunday. Towing was available 24 hours, but releasing if vehicles was not. I thanked the officer for assisting me and he gave me the phone number of [redacted] in case I had any other questions or concerns.

On Tuesday, morning September 2, 2014 between 8:15am and 8:30am, my grandmother and I arrived at Collision Towing to retrieve my car. The gate was locked. I immediately called Collision Towing and told them that their hours say Monday through Friday and that I am here to retrieve my vehicle. He then asked "Are you the one who has the [redacted]?" I said "yes." He said, "Oh, we moved your car the other day. It was leaking gas so it couldn't stay on my lot. It's at our other lot in [redacted] (MD) I done been through so much with you, calling the cops and everything." I asked, "Why did did you not contact me to let me know that you were doing that? I came here on Saturday and you mentioned nothing like that." He said,"Well I'm telling you now! It's at the other lot." He then gave me address. I said, "You are an a**!" and then hung up the phone.

I immediately called [redacted] and spoke with a helpful gentleman named Mr. S[redacted]. I informed him of the situation and he told me that it is illegal for him to move my car from his lot, take it to another jurisdiction since it was recovered in DC, and furthermore, to do it without my consent. He told me that he would call the man and tell him that he has to either take me to my vehicle or have my vehicle brought to me. I also asked him about the laws of DC Towing, as far as the maximum that they can charge me. He confirmed and said that I should be charged no more than $160-$180; the tow, at most, should be $100 and the storage based on 3-4 days should be $20 per day. I didn't have to pay for mileage.

Within 15 minutes, the man arrived at Collision Towing with my car. I noticed that all 4 of my tires were flat, my passenger side view mirror was taped on with duct tape, and there were temporary tags on my vehicle. According to the recovering officer, there were no tags on my car when it was recovered. Also, this extent of damages was not listed in the recovery report. Still, I needed to call AAA to pick it up and transport it to a body shop. He locked my car in the tow lot and said to call him when the tow truck came.

I called him at 10:08 make him aware that AAA had arrived. He said that he would send someone in ten minutes to get my car out. I would have to pay the other tow truck driver when he arrived. And that the total for my tow was $210 (a completely different amount than what Mr. S[redacted] at [redacted] said it would be.) He charged me $150 for the tow and 3 days of storage at $20 per day. However, I took Mr. S[redacted]'s earlier advice, and decided to pay the amount, document my experience and legally fight him later.

When the tow truck driver, who operated out of the [redacted] MD location, arrived to release my vehicle, he gave me a receipt and no other paperwork. According to the DC Municipal Regulations, chapter 16-4, section 408.9?, the owner or operator of the towing service storage lot shall provide to the person to whom the vehicle is released the following:

(a)?The towing control number;

(b)?The Notice of Infraction or other legal authority for removal of the car;

(c)?An itemized statement of the charges due;

(d)?A receipt for all monies paid; and

(e)?A copy of the Owner’s Bill of Rights for Towed Vehicles.

Of all of those, I got a receipt with illegal charges, according to the DC Municipal Regulations chapter 16 section 408.1 (b).

I inspected my car once again, taking pictures of the exterior, as the inside was cleaned out of everything. The car started, and sounded fine at the time. All four tires were flat and ruined. My rims were all cracked, bent or broken. There were scratches on the front and rear bumper and my side view mirror was broken and taped with duct tape and my windshield wipers were broken.

During my inspection, I noticed that there was no leaking from underneath my car. I asked the driver what it would look like if gas were to be leaking from my car? He said "If ANYTHING was leaking, there would be liquid coming from under my car, creating a puddle." There wasn't one. When the car started, there was 2 gallons of gas still in it. So if there was a leak, I assume that there would be zero gas in that tank, as well as a puddle forming.

Initially, the man from the DC lot said that he moved my car because gas was leaking from my car and that it couldn't stay on his lot. He never did tell me what day he had my car moved to the other lot. From the time that he brought the car back and put it in the lot, to around 11-11:15am when I inspected my car, there was plenty of time for a puddle to form. When the AAA tow truck driver put my car up on his truck, I could see that there was no leak at all.

Clearly this man was lying about the condition of my car, not only to me, but an officer as well. Who knows what damage he could've done to my car while it was in his possession? On top of that, he overcharged me, and illegally moved my property out of the district without notifying me or getting my consent. He has presented himself as a horrible person and business man.Desired Settlement: I will take whatever legal actions necessary for him to reimburse me for those faulty charges, my terrible inconvenience and his horrible service.

My car was stolen and this man made the experience even worse. If this is the kind of business that he does, with no morality or regard for the law, then he shouldn't be in business. It would be better for every one of this man's possible future victims, if he were prevented from doing this to another person NOW.

I would really like to be kept informed of what happens with this matter. I have had Law Enforcement with me each step of the way with this matter, and I also have photos and documentation to support my claim. Thank you for your time.