Predatory towing company forges signature, holds semi truck for $41,000 ransom
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- Опубликовано: 22 янв 2024
- A semi-truck driver overturned after hitting a viaduct near the intersection of 79th Street and Kedzie Avenue last Thursday morning. Soon after, an ambulance arrived, and so did a tow truck that led to a predatory bill worth more than $41,000. WGN's Dana Rebik reports on the story.
Not like you can shop around for a tow company while blocking traffic and the cops breathing down your neck. The government has to do a better job at regulating this.
Goverment should regulate how much rent cost, mortgage, food, gas. Towing should be the last one to be regulated.
Many of the police departments and officers are getting kickbacks from the towing companies so theres no incentive to regulate them.
@@traveler7353 No, they shouldn't.
@@DaveScottADV than don't whine about how much rent is buddy or how high gas prices are.
@@traveler7353 and your solution is the have our incredibly competent government artificially manipulate prices? Yeah, that'll work.
Towing is completely unregulated while trucking is so regulated that you can only fart for no longer than 5 seconds in your semi or you’re officially going above your daily allowed CO2 emission.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 an you get a Fine lol
... MH4..not CO2.... lol
It is regulated.
You are completely incorrect
In Montreal Canada. The government regulated tow truck companies. It is $140 per car maximum. And trucks are set at $250 per hour. We are not scared anymore
If it is an overturned truck, then they would ever get anyone to put it right side up and tow it for $250. I know if I owned a tow company for what needs to be done would be a minimum of $2500.
I think this is almost right. I can see for big rigs there should be a tier system. Say $1,000 just to get the big tow truck there and then $XXX per hour on site and then $XXX per hour driving back and unloading. Sometimes the on site is only an hour, other times it may require additional equipment and longer hours.
@@josephhodges9819don’t worry someone else will do it
@@shannonp4037 You are right because sometimes on site can be 12 hours or more depending on the weather and if they have to unload the truck before it can be moved. Sometimes it requires the use of air bags to lift the truck.
It is regulated in the US as well. That is why this is called predatory. It happens in Canada as well. RUclips has a lot of videos on it.
Call the guy up, tell him you've got the 23k, find out where he wants to meet, show up with a few heavy hitters and convince him to release your truck for 8k.
Same thing I thought of
@@teamkayos01 but the truck should be given back, paid for by "pain and suffering"
I’m off on Wednesday to help😬
I'm down to help
8k? Tell him if he wants to walk out of there in 1 piece he’ll get 500 bucks and give back the truck. Otherwise his people will find him in multiple pieces
The towing industry is unregulated. Now why is that?
organized crime
Putin's " Mafia " or Zelentsky ? 🤔
@@Jack-sk2el ✡️ mafia
@@Jack-sk2el Why did you have to make this about that?
@@Jack-sk2elPutins Ne0-N@zi ambitions have nothing to do with this
The Illinois Attorney General’s office should pull there license for predatory towing!
Fined 4 times in less than 2 years?? Official towing should be officially closed, business license revoked. The guy who owns it and disconnected his number should be banned from being employed by or owning a tow company in the state. Guy is clearly a crook.
I still remember a friend getting into an accident on the freeway. He immediately called AAA and soon a driver arrived. When asked if they were sent by AAA (this was before apps and being able to track everything), they lied and said yes. What should have been covered by insurance by instead held ransom for tow and storage fees. Never trusted tow companies since and am very careful. New technology helps. You get company and driver names to your phone now.
Aren't AAA trucks all sign written trucks a would have double checked if his truck didn't say AAA on it like
0:14 "I went under a bridge and the truck just rolled over, just like that. It was magic!"
You mean the bridge was too low for your truck?
"No, no, it just rolled over."
@user-mp9rd4hg8b you can see other trucks passing under the same bridge, so bridge wasn't too low. it does look like he hit a nice sized pothole at 0:15 and bounced the truck
@@gavnonadoroge3092 Dude, you can literally see the massive dent in the shipping container he was hauling..
No there was a truck passing on the other side at the same time.
Cool. Doesn’t make the tow companies less scummy.
It’s not the bridge that is low it’s the container maybe he forget to secure locks proper
Most of these tow companies are scum bags. We had a big snow, pileup on the freeway and the crooks showed up and charged people several thousand to tow undamaged cars away. State police said they contract certain companies and the bills would have been $500 tops.
Yes but theirs add one for getting trucks out their 1 law enforcement call means u go from last to the line to first second says extreme weather their are way more fees I'm sure your missing
After my car died on a Kansas City freeway, I called a friend to pick me up and we went to my house to get a tow strap. 40 minutes later and my car was gone. For 3 days I called highway patrol, sheriff, and 4 police departments but nobody had records of having it towed. I finally reported it stolen and 2 weeks later I get a call from Olathe KS impound lot and have to pay for the tow and 20 days storage.
Wouldn't you just phone the cops and tell them you found out where your stolen car is and let them recover it for you? Sounds like the tow company had neither permission or authority to tow the car which makes it theft no matter what they say. At that point it's on the towing company to justify their possession of the car.
@@the_omg3242Unfortunately most states have laws that let tow companies pick up cars that are blocking traffic (or that can be reasonably construed to be a danger to traffic) without being called to do so.
In reality, that “reasonably” goes a long way towards letting them grab cars, drop them in their yard and “forget” about them for a week or so while they rack up storage charges.
New company at that and already oozing greed!!!
Most of these towing companies are worser than f**king hyenas!
Bro that’s literally your fault. You abandoned your car on the road and notified no one including the police.
$41k is way too high to just flip the rig upright and tow it. There is no hazmat and no fright on the road for clean up. This is a scam. I had my bobtail towed 40 miles to dealer after hitting a deer and it was only $750.
You are talking out of your ass. “Just to flip a rig” like it’s that easy to do and it’s under a bridge in minus weather and snow on the road then get the vehicle back up the road and the road is not suitable.
This thing weighs 23ton minimum up to 44ton that’s the weight of 20-40 cars depending what it’s loaded with. Easy!
This takes two well trained operators with two 500k machines to achieve and half a day minimum. Yh it’s just flipping a coin over. 🙄 750 wouldn’t even cover the cost to the company in this case.
This is a 15k job all day everyday. I run a recovery company but don’t do heavy recovery as the outlay is millions.
@@Mrreal1871 I didn't say this was $750, that was what it cost to tow my truck. Even if you use your example, there is a major difference between 15k and the 41k they charged. They only used one tow truck, then subcontracted the tow out to someone else. Also, simple rollovers don't take half a day to clear, those are only accidents involving fatalities that take that long. I've sat in accidents where they had them flipped and fully cleared in less than 30 minutes once they actually get there as long as there is no freight to clean up.
This happens every single day. A normal bill that would normally cost about $1000-$2000, all of a sudden it costs 15,000 to 20,000.
I would imagine this is going to start causing unnecessary violence but I would argue if somebody steals your property you have the right to reclaim it with force
Total crooks
They need to go to prison
Most rotator wrecker's cost 800$ or more a hour if dispatched to a truck accident. Just that one truck. I had a rollover a few years back and the tow company had every vehicle he could from his fleet cause he could charge for each piece of equipment by the hour. I cought onto what he was trying to do and said ya need to send all these other trucks that are doing nothing away cause I will not pay for it. And the state patrol man agreed with me. My insurance company paid like 36,000 for them to get truck and trailer on wheels tow both away. And in the long run the maker of my front steer tires paid the bill due to a tire failure. Those tow companies will milk every dollar plus more. Always have towing on your insurance when driving semi's
Towing gays every where they are most greedy I met 2 times as small car and truck
yall dont understand how serious this fr ive seen trucks literally race each other to accident
How much do the cops get in kick back, It happens here where I live.
Because that isn't the issue or topic, I'm sure that was addressed 🙄
The cops are are part of the corruption in the back water County and state😢
@@miketaylor3606 by who the cops good f==kin luck.
@@miketaylor3606tow companies are corrupt and scummy. It wouldn’t surprise me.
The point of all these stories, including from news outlets insinuating they are on your side, is, no one is on your side.
You are alone.
$41000 is insane amount of money for this sort of work.
then go do it for half, see how long you stay in business for......
These guys have million dollar wreckers and insane maintenance bills. It’s really not cheap
Forged signature....null and void ? No police involved?
There's so many predatory practices in the trucking industry. It's full of vultures feeding off of others. I've had the unfortunate luck of working for numerous companies that worked their drivers slavishly and for nearly no compensation after fees and expenses the drivers were made responsible for. Their selfish agendas are destroying a otherwise lucrative and respectable line of work.
Ya know that shit is illegal right ?
@@spannaspinna Definitely illegal. They get drivers who are in positions of desperation and exploit them as much as possible. They run them abnormally long hours and pay them near nothing if anything at all. They can do this because none of the other big companies are willing to risk hiring a driver with negative history attached. These dirt bags seek out drivers with past mistakes and use them as a form of cheap and in some instances free labor. They ruthlessly abuse these drivers until they are burned out or worse, all the while sitting in their cozy office laughing at the hell these poor souls endure. They are modern day slave masters and deserve to have their businesses closed forever.
Kind of makes me wonder if I get into this business. Just buy a lot, tow some vehicles, send some fees. As long as the car owner or the value of the scrap is worth more than what the rent/space costs I don't really care about the pricing. Like say if I own the lot for 400K, but pay 5K in taxes, if the lot can hold 40 vehicles as long as my total income is 6K+ I probably wouldn't mind it. 150 a year per vehicle ish. Granted the cost of gas, and maintence fees on the work vehicle(s) would cost a large amount as well.
Illegal scams are risky with so much illegal grievance response in Chicago 🤔
We live north of Indianapolis and my daughter needed a tow. A tow truck driver who we didn't contact, already had her veh. When he contacted her and said he would tow it for $40 and a blow job. She had posted on FB that she needed help and couldn't afford an expensive tow. This guy got the veh before contacting us and that was his words when he did.
Get AAA and always call them first. That way when ambulance chaser towing shows up you can tell them to bugger off
did they settle on $25 and handjob?
This is the only type of company/pricing that should be regulated by the state but this is precisely why it should be regulated. They are preying on people who are in duress and don’t have time to price shop.
This fraud should be stopped 😮
Driver should have known to check the bridge height to begin with. These drivers need to be held accountable as well.
What does that have to do with getting jacked for 40 grand. Are you a tow truck driver?
The drivers are held accountable, they get sued, get hit on their CSA scores and get points on their CDL, and if the points get too high they lose their license or insurance companies drop them forcing them to leave Trucking.
@@breatheinbreatheout8372 Because the DumbA$$ driver wouldn't have gotten into the situation in the first place if he could READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I drove Semi's for 22yrs, never once did I ever try to take a Semi at 13'6" under a 12'6" bridge........How F*$%CKING Stupid are you???????
This is whats so confusing about this situation. If you pause the video right before he flips over you will see a box truck that just cleared the bridge in front of him and oncoming on the other side of traffic you will see the same exact 40' container on a chassis coming from under the bridge with no issues which clearly proves the bridge is over 13'6. So how does he hit the bridge and flip over? Head scratcher here...
@@mat3877That first truck under the bridge appears to be a medium-duty straight truck. A box truck in other words. Their boxes are often shorter than a semi trailer. The truck that flipped appears to have a high-cube intermodal shipping container. They are higher than your usual semi trailer.
I always thought that tow companies were on a rotational basis. I would ask the police how a predatory tow company got on the rotation list with them having so many complaints of extreme overpricing.
In this case, they were a crash chasing tow company. They showed up almost as fast as the ambulance. This wasnt the company that is contracted by the city for this.
@@mitchk7655 If they work as fast as emergency vehicles, their prices should have the same price tag as the American healthcare system. 20-50K wouldn't be and impossible figure for the expedience of clearing the road. However the insurance company should be paying these costs past the 400 dollar deductible.
$41.000 😢 are you crazy oh my God
I'd show up, cut locks, get my equipment, and leave. How would I pull this off? I am in a southern state. I carry. I'd deal with the rest later. This crap can kill a company with only a few trucks.
Pretty standard practice in Chicago
What a scam
Stealing and forging is illegal,
they should be arrested.
That tow company is full of scammers
Just one more reason I'm glad I live in a small town. We have four towing companies in the county and they all have been here for decades. They have to complete with each other, so they can stay competitive in their pricing.
This isn’t about being competitive, this is straight extortion. $41k to tow a truck for a few hours worth of work….this wasn’t a nuclear waste spill.
Why is no one talking about how stupid the driver was for going under a bridge that wasnt over 13'6", clearly a bad driver
However, if you look at the video, there are trucks clearing the bridge. I'm not sure if he didn't have a super high container?
I was about to leave a similar comment…😂😂😂😂😂. The driver straight up and lied about why the truck just turned over like that.
@@tbolton6156well, do you see those other trucks hauling the same type of load? I don’t and one was bob-tailed and the tractor turned does not have damage on the top of the tractor like the container does. So the container was too high for that overpass.
@@cool2180 He is the driver, and the one responsible to make those checks. Stop trying to minimize the situation.
Thank goodness no one was beside it when it fell over.
@@Hundr_ Funny fact about a lot of Chicago area is that there are areas that say truck route and it leads you to a low bridge but a lot of the time the high signs are missing due to wide spread theft of signage. Making it the cities responsibility for not being marked. Also face it if you ever been to Chicago in a rig and delivering it can be extremely difficult due to the poor signage issue that plagues the city in the industrial areas. Unless you have been there many times before it's a common occurrence to see rigs hitting bridges. What they really need to do is raise the Bridges or lower the road to fix this problem
Scott Motor Service in Acton MA are major crooks!
The customers should be protected because justice is at stake.
They're all crooks. Can we see a picture of the criminal?
His company should have had their own tow truck or better yet send another driver to get it just pay for putting back up and we got the rest. Neve trust a towing company anything that’s commercial they think it’s a gold mind.
No the biggest problem now is the internet guy
You can look up in the old fashioned yellow pages if you still know how to use them and call under towing heavy duty and look at how long the place has been in business.
Got a lot of these fly by night places that are basically like someone who owns a truck and the contract with a scammer like this and they say yeah and next thing you know they pull it off with this kind of bullshit.
That's why the first thing you need to look at is make sure that the business is BBB accredited or on Angie as far as I'm concerned but that's just my stupid opinion when I look for a place and decide what I'm going to use
they didn't sign the agreement, so the company that has his truck has stolen it. He should just call the cops and report it stolen, have them break open that fence and seize his property. The company has disconnected their company phone, owner is refusing calls, this sounds like theft AND FRAUD, SHUT THIS SHIT DOWN.
ICC recommends getting quotes before allowing towing, so make sure to refuse to allow your vehicle to be removed from the roadway until a written quote is provided by the company in question, something the driver at the scene can't do, and will undoubtedly result in that roadway being blocked for much longer than necessary, you angering all the first responders, and probably threats of arrest from the police for refusing to let anyone touch your vehicle while it's crashed in the street.
"It just rolled over, on the ground!" That will happen when you hit a bridge with a load higher then the set limit. He wouldn't have had that problem with the tow company had he followed proper precautions & checked his height before hand & followed the proper routes.
The owner of the truck is tossing out other stupid complaints like stolen fuel. Fuel is leaking from the turned over truck & possible damage to the tank from the slide, so it has to be drained. Being on the side, if the tank on the ground is damaged, the fuel from the tank in the air will drain to the tank below thru the tank fuel connection line.
The truck stopped after sliding under the bridge, so it has to be dragged out in order to right it up. Plus they would have to separating the units to tow them away due to possible damaged suspension of the truck.
I don't think that kind of accident can really be written out as an exact estimate due to so many variables right away, like if the load has to be be removed from the trailer before lifting it up. Sometimes that takes people using their hands or front end loaders to move it from the trailer to another trailer or dump box.
Police want it removed in a timely manor, they can't wait for the idiot driver or his company to call up a bunch of tow companies to come give estimates to pick & choose which one to use. Some law enforcements have a set list of who gets called to these incidents & go in a rotation to make sure the tow companies each get a equal chance to do recovery's.
Not saying the tow company is not a scum.
Who knows how many parts they're going to take off of that truck before he ever gets it back that company should be shut down
I run a recovery company. We can give an estimate but with a job like this it can escalate in price very quickly as it’s not a straight forward job. And very risky.
But 41k is beyond a joke. 15k max.
Anyone that will only accept cash is running a scam, maybe the irs needs to be informed
even $10k for a semi tow is FN RIDICULOUS
same company tried this same scam with me trying to tow my truck but my company had tow trucks in the area i almost had a fight with the operator of same company
Best city in America to be a lawyer; everyone's a criminal who needs legal representation!
The dumd ass tried going under a low overass😢
I'm a commercial truck driver with 41 years experience and thought you should know that Essau Santos is a name used by organized crime based in chihuahua Mexico. I just wanted to let you know.
This is not the only case that they Are doing they Are also tight to the police and when this Happens Officers call the towing company because they get their half too. Is so terrible.
The towing company and the insurance company companies
And then there’s me who has given 90$ for 15miles to tow my car 😂😂😂
Theft is theft. I don’t care what they call it they stole his truck and fuel, any other person would be in prison. You are always better off calling a tow truck yourself if possible, obviously if you are in an ambulance on your way to the hospital you can’t call but otherwise. Rotation tow companies charge an arm and a leg, a normally $100 tow might easily end up costing thousands if the police call them
I had a tow truck come when i had a car mishap. They tried to have me agree but i told them i have to make a call cause the car was a rental.
Also called my friend she came and helped me out. I was able to leave the car where it was and was able to take care of it later per the rental place.
Note to self if you got insurance and have road assistance use that. Is cover or if you get a car for a dealership that offer road side assistance use it. It will save you lots of money in the end.
That's forgery and theft, and the tow people should be arrested and their compounds raided.... including a thorough investigation into their business; and the businesses they're most closely associated with should also be scrutinized.
When an accident happens the driver will be in a state of shock and not really be in any fit state to agree to this sort of rip off
He drove under a low bridge so he deserves the bill
Illinois....imagine that
So this driver hit the bridge , I spent almost 50 years as an international driver in Europe and never hit a bridge …I always slowed right down to walking pace if unsure, that way I could stop and reverse out slowly ..Then again O always paid attention on the road ..
How is towing so unregulated yet trucking is extremely regulated?
Unessessary and gratuitous violence authorised then?
Nobody says a word about the guy running into the overpass ?? Seems to be a lot of guys who dont know how high their loads are .
Sounds like its time for towing to become regulated because 41k sounds like literal highway robbery.
And if anyone wants to complain, direct them to the towing people over charging stupid amounts, holding vehicles in lots that were not authorized. Failures to follow through with obligations and services offered.
It’s crazy that people are actual hard-core, criminals and thieves, hiding behind the cloak of a business on America on a regular basis
2:43 Relatively INOPERATIVE legislators.
You don't need to specify "predatory towing," all towing companies are predatory
Sounds about right
The truck all of a sudden turned over...lol. Maybe due to the fact that you were driving under a bridge with insufficient clearance?
What that has to do with 41grand. Go back to sleep and keep dreaming about bridges
Or perhaps one tire was off balance by 1.777 pounds.....you wouldn't believe the shit I heard in 21 years of rail and 3 in trucking ....😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@governorross5785it tells you how about that truck driver is. He lucky that the truck and the container didn’t fall on a mini van 🚐 with a family in it or he would of been gone straight to jail.
Doesn’t matter - this is about corrupt tow companies, not the bridge.
Here in Detroit we have had many tow companies pulling this crap.
if u did a insurance claim wouldnt the insurance eat the bill
the towing company has to drain fuel tanks before putting it back on it's wheels. A tank can get pierced and spill fuel on scene.
Actually a tow company only has to retain tanks if they are already leaking. The driver took picture of the fuel gauge , assuming after the truck was upright. Proof of theft
Autofill should say drain, road is closed longer which is why only drain if already leaking
My truck got stolen. I lost 15k of material and tools on the truck plus the truck. Went out and bought a new work truck for 10k. Same day i buy the truck as im driving it home i get called by the cops your trucks been found its at such and such impound yard. Low and behold the cops were too lazy to go to the scene so they just sent a tow truck to pick the truck up and take it to their yard. The tow company towed the truck 5 miles and then charged me $700 for me to get the truck back. I was at the time a repeat customer. Never ever again will i use them.
towing companies are above the law worse then loan sharks
THEY NEED TO DO SOMETHING WITH THESE TOWING COMPANIES FEES, OR THESE REPAIR SHOPS FOR SEMI TRUCKS ! LOTS OF UNFAIR FEE FOR DOING THINGS ! 😢😢
I'm not sure how he hit the bridge. It's posted to allow 13'6" high trucks under it so I would think his truck would fit. Those containers are not supposed to be over that height.
i do blame the state. You cannot allow scammers gallivanting just like that.
Pretty risky business to wildly overcharge tows in a country with most guns in the world.
Down in Kankakee i got charged 1900 for one block distance of moving my semi truck.
Just simply forcefully recover your equipment and produce a similar document saying paid in full
cut the fence down, get your own wrecker to tow the tractor and bring another truck to get your trailer
That company needs to be investigated by the FED, the IRS and Homeland security.
Crooks.
so are we just gonna ignore that he said that not the first time his truck hit abridge cause there driver don,t know the height of there load ? wtf is this lol
The state is the one that is supposed to set those rates
the accident was preventable
Toe Truck = A truck full of toes?
They are Lions hiding among sheep's 41,000$ No mercy. Some people are ok with this until is happens to you. The world is full of this type, My prayer is to be kept away from these blood thirst people and to always know a way out.
Steal it off the lot, let them come after you, then you'll know who is really behind it.
Get a pair of bolt cutters and a tow truck big enough to move a rig and take it back, it's obvious it's a scam and the Chicago government wont help get the truck back so just take it back. They have been fined 3 times and have continued scamming that should be a clear sign your not going to see eye to eye with them.
Yes there is that dose go on I had a wreak up on Hwy 26 in Oregon they charged $32000.00 an would answer their phone same way an stolen all of my stuff out of my truck.
My truck got on fire and they charged almost 20k
You need channel 3 by your side
That driver needs his licence pulled, for driving that truck under that low bridge, if a car was beside it, it would have been crushed
Or have Tow Coverage
Were is the DOT
In ohio i got nailed for 2500 for an escort tow truck was too small . My tow truck was enroute. The tow was 500 . What a rip of in large truck tows
How come the towing companies are not regulated? They use heavy diesel vehicles to recover semi trucks! Why they're not regulated? This is a bs loophole and they are taking full advantage of that!
This guy is going to eat 40k in fines anyway
Towing that needs to be towed
It's well known that some towing companies are "family run" businesses.