Traffic and car accidents in LA County are as common as sunshine and palm trees with over 6,000 reported within the first three months of 2014. For people involved in a fender bender, holding up traffic, car damages and possible injuries are all enough to stress over. Falling victim to a tow truck scam is now another stressor to add to the list, according to the LAPD and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
They’ve partnered to raise awareness of “bandit” tow truck operators who show up to the scene of an accident, before law enforcement, to tow cars and charge outrageous prices to the owners who want to retrieve it. Scammers use police scanners to find recent car accidents, claim to be affiliated with insurance providers and exhort drivers to sign paperwork unknowingly authorizing their financial demise. Owners have shelled out up to $4,000 to reclaim their cars.
Since California law now has stricter guidelines for tow truck operators impounding cars from private lots, more are preying on accident victims. Once they’ve towed a car from an accident scene, cars are taken to body shops, tacking on hefty charges for repairs and holding and towing fees.
What strategies are being put in place to prevent these scams from continuing?
The LAPD and NICB recommend the following in a press release:
- If you are in a non-injury accident, contact police and your insurance company or motor club to request an authorized tow truck.
- Your insurance company or road side service should provide the name of the tow truck company and expected arrival time. If a tow truck arrives unexpectedly, a call back to the road side service center should be considered to confirm the tow company is the correct company dispatched.
- Do not be pressured or intimidated into dealing with a tow truck driver that was not requested.
- Do not sign any towing release form that does not clearly spell out the charges involved and the exact location where you want the vehicle taken.
- Use your cell phone to take pictures of any tow truck operator and equipment that shows up on the scene.
- Take pictures of the damage to the vehicles. Some unscrupulous body shops will enhance the damage once they get the vehicle to inflate the repair charges.
- If you are injured in the accident, do not be forced into signing a release. Let the police handle the tow.
Guests:
Frank Scafidi, Director of public affairs, National Insurance Crime Bureau
Benjamin Jones, LAPD detective, oversees enforcement section of Police Commission Investigation Division