California Authorities Warn About Predatory Tow Trucks

According to the California Department of Insurance, there are predatory tow truck companies singling out car crash victims, shaking them down for thousands of dollars. Since the tow truck service has the vehicle in a secure yard, they charge fees that add up to a lot of money, threatening to keep the car or file for a lien if the owners don’t cough it up.  

Car falls off interstate overpass in California.

We know this won’t shock a number of people since this sort of thing happens all over, not just in California. But we’re grateful this practice is getting increased attention since we’ve dealt with something similar personally and known many others who have also been targeted.

But these so-called “bandit tow trucks” are pushing things further than we’ve seen. Instead of robbing people in apparently legal ways, these tow trucks aren’t called by police to clear a crash scene but instead just show up out of nowhere and offer to tow a vehicle for free.

When you’ve been in an accident, you’re often not thinking straight. But the big tell here is the offer to tow a car and charge nothing. No tow company offers its services for free.

Police tell NBCLA these bandit tow trucks are operating without a permit and their fees are much higher. Considering we’ve dealt with so-called legitimate tow companies which still charge crazy amounts and find every reason to not release a vehicle from their storage lot, racking up daily fees, it’s really saying something when these companies are even worse.

The NBCLA report says the best way to not get scammed is to have police arrange for a legitimate tow company to show up and haul your vehicle away. We wish that were a guarantee you won’t get the runaround and have to pay high fees, but with the bandit tow trucks you’re guaranteed high expenses and rough treatment.

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