SIGforum.com Main Page The Lounge On the hook: Unexpected charges, little recourse for Illinois tow customers
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This is pure highway robbery. People complaining about medical bills, have nothing on these guys. I can imagine who they are connected to. Illinois’ largely unregulated towing industry is leaving some customers angry and upset after they were left on the hook for unexpected bills. Twenty-year-old college student Ellie Frobish was charged nearly $4,000 for her car to be towed out of a ditch that she landed in during a snowstorm. “My friends are like: ‘You got pretty girl scammed,’” she said. The bill included an $1,800 “surcharge based on recovery elements” and a $724 fuel surcharge. Ellie’s father Eric Frobish, an attorney, attempted to intervene by calling the tow company. “He told me basically in no uncertain terms: ‘This is going to go in one of a few ways: Either you pay for this tow or we’re going to keep your car in storage and rack-up more fees until we own your car,’” he said. The total cost of the tow came close to the value of Ellie Frobish’s 11-year-old Ford Taurus. But Ellie Frobish’s experience wasn’t nearly as costly as Kamayi Denis’ encounter with the same suburban towing company. He was charged $23,188 to remove his jack-knifed pick-up truck and cargo carrier from a ditch along I-55. By the time he was finished arguing with the tow firm and insurance company, storage fees were tacked-on that sent the bill soaring past $39,000. More Coverage: WGN Investigates “I want them to be accountable for the wrong they’re doing to people,” Denis said. WGN Investigates found despite more than 100 reports to police and dozens of complaints filed against the company with the Illinois Commerce Commission, Illinois Attorney General and Better Business Bureau since January 2021, there is little regulators can do. LINK: https://wgntv.com/news/wgn-inv...inois-tow-customers/ | ||
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Fire begets Fire |
People deserve the government they get. "Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay - and claims a halo for his dishonesty." ~Robert A. Heinlein | |||
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| Back, and to the left  |
In Illinois, I agree. Nationally, in the case of a stolen election, not so much. We, the people, just decided not to have an American Bastille day. Yet. | |||
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אַרְיֵה |
When I lived in the Chicago area I used to see Steve Goodman perform, mostly at a bar called "Somebody Else's Troubles." Here are the lyrics to a song that Goodman wrote about a towing company in Chicago.
הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים | |||
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| If you see me running try to keep up  |
I left that state in 1987 and haven't been back. | |||
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| Member |
Who requested the tow trucks? Did the driver just google tow companies near me? Did the police request the tow? I would think if you called the tow truck and didnt ask the price your S.O.L. If it was a police ordered tow and they are charging those ridiculous fees then there is a problem. The PD needs to step in and find a new tow service or have a contact where pricing is listed. | |||
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| Member |
Why don't people get a written quote before allowing the company to tow their vehicle? I would ask the price when I call and then get it in writing before they hook it up. The thieves should be put of business. _________________________ | |||
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safe & sound |
I used to be involved with a towing business years ago and agree on both counts. Here in Missouri all tow operators are licensed, and must have something along these lines posted on every truck:
There seemed to be two ways to handle it when they were police tows. Agencies either restricted themselves to one company, and companies would bid for that work using a fee schedule. Low bid got that contract. The second way was a rotation method which seems to be a bit more common now. If you are a qualified company (equipment, insurance, response times, distance to lot, etc) you get called out in the order you appear on their list. Although you're not bidding, I'm still confident that your rates come into play. Then again, if Illinois has zero regulation none of this may apply. Everybody can just do whatever they want. I recently hired a well known tow operator out of Chicago to drive to Wisconsin and tow an over the road coach bus all the way back to St. Louis. That cost me about the same as the woman who had her car pulled out of the ditch. | |||
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| Member |
You have to know how things are done in Illinois. The lawyer for the towing firm is a former cop and previously served on the Illinois Commerce Commission. That says it all right there. Tow truck drivers are a breed apart. Luckily when my daughter had her accident her boyfriend was right there. He negotiated on the spot to have the car flipped back on his tires. My daughter said it was pretty lively because the cops wanted the road open and the driver was still talking about more money. | |||
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Member |
I think my towing insurance is $14/yr and whatever the towing company charges, it's the insurance company's problem. I've never not had towing insurance. Seems like it's pretty cheap, even if you pay for decades without using it. | |||
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| אַרְיֵה |
Back in the 1970s I lived in Chicago, on the Near North side. Small apartment building, private parking lot with assigned spaces, but near some touristy / nightspot places, so people would help themselves to our parking places in spite of the large signs that clearly warned: "Private parking. Parketh ye not here, lest ye be towed for many shekels." As often as not, I would arrive home on a Friday or Saturday evening and find a car in my parking space. Call the Lincoln Park Pirates, who would come and snag the violator, who then paid big bucks as a penalty for the failed attempt to avoid paying ten bucks for legitimate parking. הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים | |||
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blame canada |
That is the racket. MOST states have the same game going. How these guys don't have their places burned down on a regular basis is a complete mystery to me. They are predators. A combat veteran I was meeting with and helping shot himself over the fallout of a similar predatory tow. There is a special place in hell for tow companies like this. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The trouble with our Liberal friends...is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." Ronald Reagan, 1964 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Arguing with some people is like playing chess with a pigeon. It doesn't matter how good I am at chess, the pigeon will just take a shit on the board, strut around knocking over all the pieces and act like it won.. and in some cases it will insult you at the same time." DevlDogs55, 2014  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ www.rikrlandvs.com | |||
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| My other Sig is a Steyr.  |
That is bad. Good thing they didn't call out 'a towing company' by name so the motoring public could be warned. Nice reporting! | |||
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Member |
Because Chicago ain't like it used to be. | |||
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| Member |
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The video has the name of the company and an interview with their attorney. The owner had agreed to an on camera interiew and sped away when the reporter showed up. | |||
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| Member |
Apparently the video has been removed. No surprise there. Earlier edition was worth seeing. The lawyer for the towing company laughed heartily at every allegation and said he would look into the cases himself. Fat chance of that happening. The company did lose its license when it was found out they had two grand in outstanding fines. The company paid and got their license back. | |||
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| Veteran of the Psychic Wars |
For those that live in the City of Chicago proper, one name that strikes terror in the hearts of parkers is: Rendered Services 3601 S. Iron The signs are everywhere and it gets ingrained in your soul; like knowing 588-2300, Hudson three, two seven hundred, or Bert Weinman Ford 3535 N. Ashland Ave. __________________________ "just look at the flowers..." | |||
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| Member |
Speaking of Rendered Services here is a handy Google review: Sunderbans fish market guy is their informer. If you park in the parking lot in front of Sunderbans Fish Market(2200 W Devon Ave), he will call them as soon as you move away from your car. His is always looking at cars entering the parking lot, maybe he gets some commission. Their warning boards are in corner where no one can see them. The woman at front desk doesn’t answer phone properly. She will try to not answer anything on phone as she is pretty experienced with this. You can get your car back by paying $218. | |||
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Member |
There is a scene in the movie The Mask where the protagonist's car is left in the shop for a minor job, and when he returns to pick it up, the shop tells him that additional repairs are required. He is left without a car, and with the impending financial disaster of a repair bill. The Mask later returns to the shop and eliminates the problem. We all want that kind of justice, from time to time. I often wonder what would our society be like if we had "The Mask" as our problem solver. I wonder what he would do to this towing company situation? ------- Trying to simplify my life... | |||
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