Tow jam: Proprietors must sign off on towings
By Special to the Daily Press
CITY HALL — Consumer protection lawyers here have filed criminal charges against three towing companies for illegal business practices.
Socorro Lopez, who owns Classic Towing; Ameer Antoon, owner of Concord Towing; and William Amaya of William’s Tow and Impound, will be arraigned today at the LAX Courthouse. They are accused of various violations ranging from overcharging customers to illegally towing vehicles.
Deputy City Attorney Adam Radinsky, who is prosecuting the cases, said City Hall has recently received several tips from the Santa Monica Police Department of towing violations throughout the city.
“We have seen a sudden rash of these cases,” he said. “Certain towing companies have been taking it upon themselves to make money illegally...
“We hope these cases send a wake-up call to all towing companies doing business in Santa Monica that the laws will be enforced here.”
Lopez faces the most charges with six infractions and one misdemeanor. A misdemeanor and an infraction differ in the amount of the fines. A misdemeanor carries possible jail time while an infraction does not.
Lopez’s infractions include three counts of towing a car without a business owner’s authorization, two counts of refusing credit card payment and one count of charging a car owner an excessive rate. The misdemeanor is for towing a car without legal grounds, a violation of the California Vehicle Code. Lopez did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Antoon was unaware of the charges against him. Neither he nor his corporate attorney returned phone calls seeking comment. He is charged with two infractions — towing without a business owner’s authorization and overcharging for storage.
Amaya also was not available for comment, but a dispatcher at his company, Mike Gomez, said the charges of refusing a credit card and operating without a business license are false.
“We have a business license with the city of Los Angeles and one for Santa Monica, too,” he said, adding William’s Tow and Impound accepts ATM cards or cash, which is in compliance with the California vehicle code.
California law requires towing companies to accept credit cards. William’s Tow and Classic Towing are charged with breaking that rule, Radinsky said.
It’s also illegal for towing companies to charge more than the going rate approved by the local police department — or to charge for two days’ storage when a car has been impounded less than 24 hours. “We see this as serious consumer protection,” Radinsky said. “We do see it as an issue when people are being charged exorbitant amounts, they can’t use their credit cards in the middle of the night, usually in strange locations, their cars are being towed illegally and people don’t even know it’s illegal and that there are remedies.”
Radinsky said most people don’t know about one important part of the California Vehicle Code that Lopez and Antoon allegedly violated.
“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,” he said. “That means that during hours when a business is closed, cars can’t be towed unless the towing company gets approval from the business right then.”
One of those remedies is car owners suing tow companies in small claims court. Though Radinsky doesn’t know how many people have taken advantage of that opportunity, he said most people don’t know you can get up to four times the amount you paid back.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 12, 2004. Read the original PDF.