PITTSBURGH — You’re in an accident or your car breaks down and you need a tow. How does $13,000 sound for a short tow?
Chief Investigator Rick Earle found out about a brand new statewide effort to crack down on predatory towing and tips to keep you from getting taken for a ride.
Earle found out it’s a problem many of you may not even be aware of it.
Often times insurance companies handle the claims and you never see the bill.
But Earle discovered charges ranging from $1,400 to as high as $13,000 for tows only several miles.
Some of the bills include fees for accident clean-up and storage.
“All I could see was a headlight,” said Regina Byers, of Penn Hills.
It happened one night last fall on Old William Penn Highway in Monroeville.
“He was coming right at me. I went to move over because I didn’t want him to hit me head-on, and as soon as I started, I heard this terrible crunching, scraping noise,” said Byers.
Byers told Earle she swerved to get out of the way and crashed her car into a boulder on the side of the road.
Byers said the driver stopped but then took off.
She did not get a license plate number.
Police responded and told her they would call a tow truck.
She has AAA but she said police told her that would take too long.
She said a tow truck arrived and within minutes had her car hooked up.
“I was taking pictures of the car and it was on the tow truck already and then they towed it only a couple miles from where the accident actually happened,” said Byers.
She said she went to get her car the next day but the tow company wasn’t open.
She returned the next day and they told her it would be $1,400 to get her car out.
“I was in shock. I told them I didn’t have that type of money. I said I’m a new widow, I’m on Social Security, and a pension. I can’t afford this,” said Byers
The tow company agreed to knock $500 off, but Byers said she still couldn’t afford it.
She called the Mayor and the Police Chief called her back.
The Chief convinced the tow company to lower it to $250.
“Exactly what it should be and that’s a reasonable tow,” said Chris Sloan, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority.
Sloan’s organization has launched an aggressive campaign with billboards to warn drivers about predatory and rogue tow operators and outrageous fees.
Sloan showed 11 Investigates a variety of bills from tow operators ranging from $3,974 to $9,830 to $11,390.
“The majority of them are honest and they provide a valuable service, but the bad ones, the wreck chasers and the rogue tow companies, you know they are a stain on their industry,” said Sloan.
11 investigates has been looking into another tow truck driver for the past several years.
Earle: I’d like to talk to him about this Fiat. Do you have anything to say? The guy said he towed it for a half mile, less than a half mile, and they wanted $5,000.
And last year, tow operator Vince Fannick was charged with 151 counts including insurance fraud, and theft by deception.
Investigators with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office and Allegheny County Police said he charged 36 customers a total of more than $300,000 for short tows.
Sloan talked about the allegations facing Fannick.
“Vince would take it back to his yard and store it there,” said Sloan.
“And then if you try to get him, he would charge him crazy fees?” asked Earle.
“Yes, charging insurance companies crazy fees,” said Sloan.
“It’s been horrible,” said Hunter Sessi, whose car was towed by Fannick after an accident in the strip district several years ago.
Sessi said Fannick wouldn’t return it to him unless he paid $5,000.
He said Fannick told him to just let his insurance company handle it.
“The $5,000 was for a .4 mile tow from 25th and Penn to about a quarter mile down the road,” said Sessi.
When he couldn’t get his car, Sessi reached out to 11 investigates and Earle went to Fannick’s shop in July of 2021, before he had been charged by police.
“We’d like to ask you some questions. Why they wanted to charge so much to tow the car four-tenths of a mile?” asked Earle.
Fannick never responded to our questions.
Sessi eventually got his car.
He said he didn’t know if his insurance company ever settled with Fannick.
“I saw one for $13,000 and it was under four miles and it was a basic hook,” said Sloan.
Sloan said most of the time drivers aren’t aware of the inflated fees.
He said insurance companies handle most of the claims, but eventually, the costs will be passed on to consumers.
“The insurance company, they want to adjust the claim, fix the vehicle take care of their policyholder, provide customer service. To do that, they’re oftentimes paying an outrageous invoice and eventually that comes back to the consumer in the form of higher insurance rates,” said Sloan.
Sloan said drivers can take some steps to make sure they don’t get taken for a ride.
He said don’t sign a blank invoice.
Take pictures of the damaged vehicle and the tow truck.
But ultimately Sloan believes state lawmakers should step in, and set limits on charges.
“I think you need to set, set towing fees, at least caps on how much that can be charged,” said Sloan.
“There’s not that now? It’s a free-for-all?” asked Earle.
“It is truly a free-for-all,” said Sloan.
Earle reached out to the Pennsylvania Towing Association and President Gwen Null said they do not support a fee structure.
She told Earle that every tow is different. Null said drivers need to make sure the tow operator has a DOT number on the truck, along with the name of the towing company and a phone number.
Null said most tow operators are honest, hard-working people, but she acknowledged that there are some rogue, predatory tow operators out there.
She said it only takes a few bad operators to give the industry a black eye.
The company that towed Regina Byers’ car defended the $1,400 fee and said that it was lower than the industry standard.
They said they pride themselves on their professionalism and they have the best equipment and operators around.
They said they agreed to cut Byers a break because her insurance didn’t cover towing.
They sent us an email statement. We have posted part of the statement below.
“I know to an outsider that some of the towing costs may seem high but keep in mind we only get paid for half of the cars we tow in from wrecks due to either no/canceled insurance, or they only had liability and no one is going to pick up a car that is totaled and is going to cost more to fix than its worth. One thing that we stress to all people that we deal with every day is that unless you can afford to take a loss of $15-20,000.00, then you need to carry full coverage insurance. Most people don’t realize that even if the accident is not their fault, there is no guarantee that the other car involved even has insurance…we have the best equipment money can buy and the best-trained staff in the area while still keeping our prices cheaper than most. We pride ourselves in being extremely professional and providing the best service possible to all of the police departments that we service including local and State Police. "
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