City Hauls Towing Companies to Court

By Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer

October 12 -- The City Attorney's office plans to haul three towing companies into court Tuesday for allegedly charging excessive fees, towing without a business's permission and refusing to accept credit cards.

The City is charging the three towing companies -- Classic Towing, Concord Towing and William's Tow and Impound -- to "send a wake up call" to towing companies doing business in Santa Monica and bring a halt to what could be a "widespread" problem, said Deputy City Attorney Adam Radinsky.

"It could possibly be a large problem here in Santa Monica, we don't know for sure," said Radinsky, who noted that two other companies are under investigation as well.

"It's just been in the last three or four months that we've received a number of complaints from individuals," he said.

The biggest offender, Radinsky said, is Classic Towing, with seven criminal counts in all. Three of those counts are for towing cars from a business without the business's consent.

"During business hours when a business is closed, cars can't be towed unless the towing company gets approval from the business right then," said Radinsky.

"Many people don't know that it's illegal to tow a car from a business without the written authorization of the business owner or an employee, even when there's a tow-away sign posted," he said.

Classic Towing, along with Concord Towing, is accused of overcharging the rate approved by the local police department, which is approximately $200, and charging for two days' storage when a car has been impounded less than 24 hours.

"There is a great temptation to tow as many cars as they can, and charge as much as they can, so we are trying to be proactive in halting that practice," said Radinsky.

The most egregious case of overcharging was an individual who doled out nearly $300 -- $100 more than the limit allowed by law, Radinsky said.

It is important that Santa Monicans who were overcharged know they can recover up to four times the amount they paid by filing in Small Claims court against the towing companies, Randinsky said.

Concord Towing refused to comment on the charges, while Classic Towing and William's Tow and Impound could not be reached for comment. All three will be arraigned Tuesday at the LAX airport Courthouse in Los Angeles.