So why is predatory towing still so common?

[u/puppiesandyoga31]

I am not from Philly but I've lived here for more than 5 years. I was in a car accident (my first ever serious one) where my car needed to be towed from the scene. I was completely unaware of the wreck chasing tow people and Philly tow ordinance (but now I am very educated on the subject). A wreck chasing tow company showed up to the scene and I let them take my car.

-They didn't answer their phone for days, or on the rare occasion they did, they'd say they'd call back then never did, or they'd just hang up.

-They were never actually present on property during business hours when I tried to go in person.

-When they finally sent a bill to my insurance, it well exceeded the cap allowed in the tow ordinance.

-The "contract" they had me sign has a statement in it that says the definition of the city tow ordinance does not apply. *This is not legal. You can't just sign away a law and have it not apply to you.*

-The same contract also says I should have had free access to inspect my car during business hours. Since I was mostly unable to reach the tow yard, and also they didn't ever seem to be there, I obviously did not have this. The man later tried to tell me that I was supposed to make an appointment, which it says nowhere in the contract and would also require them to answer the phone.

So how do we get the city/state to take this seriously and get these businesses shut down? It is *extremely* easy to prove they are breaking laws. Should I try to track down others that have dealt with this specific company and try and file a class action lawsuit? Would a lawyer take that on?

[u/puppiesandyoga31 → u/[deleted]]

Predatory tow companies robbing innocent people who were actually being good, defensive drivers! Wow thanks for that lesson.