Latest Towing Headlines
All the headlines from our Towing Topic Page, ordered by recency.
NICB Praises Florida’s New Law on Predatory Tow Truck Practices
Apr 2 2024 // The National Insurance Crime Bureau is hailing a new Florida law that aims to deter predatory tow-truck practices and limit the fees that tow companies can charge. House Bill 179 was signed by the governor in March and it...
Family of Man Who Died Sues Tow Truck Driver They Said Sat on the Man’s Head
Dec 7 2023 // ATLANTA (AP) — The family of a Georgia church deacon who died after struggling with a police officer following a minor car crash has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a tow truck driver they say arrived during...
Alabama Tow Truck Operator Set for Trial on Overcharging Insurance Companies
Aug 15 2023 // One of five Alabama tow truck operators charged with overcharging insurance companies will go to trial in April, almost four years after the men were hit with insurance fraud charges. Danny Williams, owner of Southport...
California Tow Truck Driver Arraigned on 54 Counts of Insurance Fraud, Assault
Mar 24 2023 // Eliu Canales, 43, was arraigned this week on 54 felony counts of insurance fraud, assault with a deadly weapon and reckless driving after a joint investigation by the California Department of Insurance and San Joaquin...
7 Ways to Avoid Predatory Towing Companies
Dec 20 2022 // This post is part of a series sponsored by IAT Insurance Group. Companies that engage in disreputable towing — sometimes referred to as predatory towing — practices are preying on trucks in areas known to have an...
Feds Accuse Virginia Towing Firm of Illegally Selling Military Service Members’ Cars
Apr 22 2022 // Federal prosecutors have filed a lawsuit accusing a Virginia company of illegally taking and selling service members’ vehicles. The lawsuit filed Friday accuses Steve’s Towing of Virginia Beach of illegally...
Maryland Coalition Wants End to Truck-Towing Companies Charging Huge Fees
Feb 1 2022 // A Maryland coalition of insurance interests and trucking firms is hoping a House bill will put the brakes on towing companies that haul away big trucks after accidents and charge exorbitant fees. “It is not...
Chicago Towing Company to Pay $166K After Worker Misclassifications
Jul 12 2021 // Federal officials say the operators of a Chicago towing company that promises customers round-the-clock service failed to pay dozens of its workers legally for the hours they worked providing emergency road service. U.S....
Tighter Towing Regulations Approved for Chicago
May 27 2021 // Changes to the city ordinance requiring additional licensing to improve towing safety have been passed by the Chicago City Council, the National Insurance Crime Bureau reported. The NICB supported an amendment to city...
Judge Strikes Down Parts of Michigan Towing Law
Mar 8 2021 // A judge struck down portions of a Michigan towing law as unconstitutional after low-income Detroit residents shared extraordinary stories of high fees and frustration about the whereabouts of their vehicles. The case...
Judge Strikes Down Parts of Michigan Towing Law
Feb 26 2021 // A judge has struck down portions of a Michigan towing law as unconstitutional after low-income Detroit residents shared extraordinary stories of high fees and frustration about the whereabouts of their vehicles. The case...
N.Y. Man Charged with Insurance Fraud for Tow Yard Arson Causing $100K in Damages
Nov 9 2020 // A New York man has been charged with arson and other crimes after allegedly setting fire to vehicles in a tow yard and filing an insurance claim to collect the cash. Egor Spiridonov, of Broad Channel, Queens, has been...
NTSB: Incomplete Safety Procedures Led to Illinois Barge Explosion
Oct 14 2020 // The National Transportation Safety Board said in a new report that the use of incomplete safety procedures was the probable cause of the Nov. 4, 2019, explosion of barge IB1940 in the Illinois Marine Towing Heritage Slip...
NICB: Towing Scams Prove Costly for Chicagoans, Insurers
Sep 7 2020 // Though perhaps not the absolute worst region in the U.S. for insurance scams involving towing abuses, Chicago-area vehicle owners still face exorbitant towing and storage fees, unsolicited tows, and dangerous, unsafe...
NICB: Ongoing Towing Scams Proving Costly for Chicagoans, Insurers
Aug 25 2020 // Though perhaps not the absolute worst region in the U.S. for insurance scams involving towing abuses, towing scams in Chicago continue to cause problems for residents and insurers alike, according to the National Insurance...
Towing Company Sued by North Carolina for Pandemic Price-Gouging
May 8 2020 // Authorities in North Carolina filed the state’s first price-gouging lawsuit against a towing company accused of employing predatory towing and booting practices during the coronavirus pandemic. A temporary...
Two Employees Injured in Fire that Destroyed Iowa Towing, Auto Shop
Feb 18 2020 // Two people suffered minor injuries in a fire that destroyed a Fort Dodge, Iowa, towing and auto business in northwestern Iowa, officials said. The fire broke out in the afternoon on Feb. 14 in Mid Iowa Towing, television...
Investigation Indicates Widespread Fraud in the New York City Towing Industry
Jul 19 2019 // New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Lorelei Salas has announced an investigation into the tow truck industry that suggests widespread insurance and workers’ compensation...
Alabama Towing Firms Under Investigation for Overcharging Drivers
Jul 17 2019 // Police in Alabama have searched five towing companies that are under investigation for possible insurance fraud. New outlets report officers executed search warrants Friday at more than a dozen locations. Mobile Police...
Proposed Ohio Bill Bars Towing Services from Hiring ‘Spotters’
May 17 2019 // A bill that would prohibit towing services from hiring “spotters” to report illegally parked vehicles is up for consideration in an Ohio House committee. A spotter as described in the bill is a person whose...
