Taylor residents outraged over price of car crash cleanups 

He is running a scam, the city needs to drop his company

So he is an insurance crook

It's a scam and the owner knows it's a scam.

That sounds like a huge scam. I've never in my entire life heard of an accident clean up bill!

How much in kickbacks is the city council getting in there pockets.

I had to back up and pause to read some of that bill! He charges $350 an hour just to have his truck there with "flashy light arrow", $140 an hour for each guy on site, $200 an hour for the "supervisor". Soil samples and testing for liquid spilled on concrete? 🤔 For starters!!! 😂Talk about a racket! I've been towing and cleaning up after accidents for nearly 30 years. Never heard of such nonsense. Guaranteed someone on the board is friends or getting kickbacks from this thief, in my opinion. He should be ashamed, and someone should sue him.

Dude is trying to charge cleanup bills like hospitals charge medical bills. What a pile of crap, and what a scummy person.

I've never heard of an accident cleanup bill. Insane.

I'm not paying for anything I didn't order especially a $8,000.00 bill sent out 7 months later. Company owner has lost his mind.

Kitty litter doesn’t cost that much. Unless you have a major diesel spill I can’t imagine you need soil testing.

The company is an insurance gouger. Purposely over charging. These companies and ones like them, are the reason insurance premiums inflate.

Taylor residents are just fed up with Taylor period, Area towing needs to be shut down NOW.

Wait till the bills come for electric car cleanups

They don't even charge that much to clean up after a death for bio removal! That's ridiculous!

Yeah, I’m not gonna lie I’ve been in a handful of accidents and I’ve never been charged a cleanup bill. Luckily, none of them wherever my fault but still it doesn’t matter.

He is a Hall of Shame candidate.

I used to work in towing & must say this is some next level shaddy sht right here, On normal car crash maybe a max of $200. for a clean up bill, $70. for the tow ( back in the 90's ) then start tacking on for garbage clean up, fluid clean up 25.+ for speedy dry & disposal depending on how much you use . This sounds like highway robbery .

For those involved in accidents, take tons of photos.

They reached out to the mayor…Which one??…The one that is in prison??

The whole city got scammed by this guy.

I know exactly what happened. There is a company in MA that puts on classes to teach towing companies the loopholes and how to inflate these costs to a ridiculous level. I bet I could quote the invoice word for word from experience

Never once have I been able too call up an insurance company and tell them to “take care of it.” That would be amazing.

When tow companies bid for contracts they have to provide the municipalities with an itemized list of all of their charges and they are then chosen. I can't believe these high charges were disclosed at the time of the bid process? This doesn't pass the smell test.

This is the kind of company that if they work auto mechanics would tell you that your whole car needs to be rebuilt from the ground up because I found one loose screw. It has to be asked how many people on the city Council are getting kickbacks from this vehicle recovery and crash site cleanup. Oh, and the icing on the cake was when the owner of this nefarious company complained about not being able to get paid for their services. Of course they're not being paid because the residents that they are trying to illegally bill for services not ask for, but required by the city. This is nothing more than stolen from citizens by organized criminals. This most definitely warrants a RICO investigation.

This is one of the reasons why there is a decline in population from Michigan.

Don't you dare pay that. OR your insurance. Take that company to court. I'd kive to see his lawyer explain to a judge his justifications for charging this. Tows and cleanups are a $1000 max.

Oh hell nah! This man conning you. Thanks for bringing this to light.

This is part of the ever increasing insurance costs. It’s not the insurance companies that end up paying , it’s the insurers.

As usual, follow the money and you will probably see some of it going into the pockets of those town "leaders".

Soil testing for real? These guys are unrealistic

I was in an accident last year in which the tow company did the clean up and charged me. About a month later I got a bill from the city for ambulance service that I didn't use. When I called about the bill I was told it wasn't for and ambulance it was for clean up. I was also told there is no way to not pay it. If I refused to pay it would be put onto my property tax bill. MAJOR SCAM!!! I'm stuck here for 6 more years then I'm moving out of this crappy city.

If you foist your service and costs onto an unsuspecting crash victim, they're not "consumers" -- they aren't voluntarily shopping in a free market, at least. If the vast majority of your costs aren't recouped, get out of the business; you can't just throw your debt everywhere until it sticks. "Everything today is outrageous"? WTF? The guy looks to be in an unsustainable racket, and hoping that for-profit insurance companies will throw cash at you to make you go away... that's just fueling the same problem we have with the US healthcare insurance industry. The city should cover such cleanup costs; if residents, by way of their elected officials, don't believe the benefit is worth the cost, then they can refuse the service and fairly accept the consequences.

17 grand to clean up some coolant? I will do it for 200 bucks, totally insane

Never had a clean up bill before. Sucks for taylor

Ive been a firefighter in two different states and three different departments and I have never once heard of a private cleanup company coming after an accident. If there is any hazmat concerns that is handled by the fire department or local/state agency and not passed onto a private company.

😂 he better get some private security

I've lived in numerous locations across the U.S., and have never encountered any such clean up fees nor has anyone I know ever mentioned this. The City of Taylor is " cleaning " their citizens and I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that Mr. Anders is a close friend of at least one member of the city administration. I'm not opposed to paying for spills that I caused, but I also know it doesn't cost thousands to clean up after most auto collisions.

Show us an itemized bill. Please show in detail how a cleanup costs this much money. I understand it's a business and needs to make money to survive, but this, this is ridiculous.

Area has always been a shady company

The company’s owner explains how he is fing people by having good lawyers LMFAO

I could see a $500 bill or even a $1000 bill, but multiple thousands doesn't make sense unless it's a very complicated environmental cleanup.

This sounds like a good place to set up my flimflam business 😂😺

Let's all get together and stop driving for a day. How about 1/2 a day? Just to protest all the BS taxes, insurance, fees, etc, etc, etc....

Ridiculous... the towing company guy is living large!

So it’s ok to send an outrageous bill to the insurance companies? As these bills start being sent to vehicle insurance companies they are going to start having an optional hazard cleanup coverage on their customers insurance plans. Those are going to be some costly add ons. Kind of like having to add flood insurance to your home insurance plans.

Many fire departments are starting to bill insurance companies for incidents involving major cleanups such as fuel, oil, hydraulic, etc. spills. Not bill the individual specific!

FACT IS THE SAME AREA WILL HAVE OIL COOLANT ECT SPILT ON IT ANY WAY.

i've never heard of this and I've been driving for decades, with my last accident being a doozy. hit from behind by a semi and sent into a tree face on. accordion car. nobody ever sent a bill for getting it out of the tree!, that's really weird to me

Between this and the tow fees and storage for a vehicle, the stories recently on Channel 4, I believe Taylor has an issue on hand that needs to be rectified. Shame on Area towing. If possible, do not use Towing that the police recommend. If possible, move the car into a parking lot or call yiur insurance right away and get your vehicle towed. Call a friend if you need to. The bill is high because the tow companies charge a lot for storage. Per day!

How can clean up cost more than the wrecked car?

I work for a decent size towing company and we don’t even chargequarter of that we do time on scene and we try to get it done quickly to reopen the road

So his defense is I don't bill individuals. I bill the insurance company. Why isn't this insurance fraud of some kind. I am shocked this guy is still alive! Okay Nessel time to come through on your campaign promises.

You know what they say about greed. They have exposed their own scam.

That business owner is a sleezy piece of work.

Holly smokes, I'm glad you are doing this. Few years ago, my Ford F 350 hit some road debris on I-80 near Reno, NV. The coolant hose was cut/popped along with some radiator damage. Naturally, we called the insurance and they had it towed to the nearest "service station". It turns out, the towing company charged my insurance $3000 for the tow (6 miles) and "clean up". They even mentioned in the sheet that my truck was a commercial truck. BTW, all pickups in CA have to be registered as commercial in CA even if you are towing an travel trailer and never use it as commercial with DOT number, log book etc. Past that, the service station "Bill-bob-and-scams" station, charged me ~$2500 in repairs, most of it in labor and two parts, one $100 hose and another $50 "sealant". I took it to BBB and my insurance about this non sense. I was only partially ($196) refunded from Billy-bob's. I was told by my insurance to let go as I was covered and they were not taking any further action in my case. Surprise-surprise, my next insurance quote went almost $1400/year more! Unfortunately, these issues have statute of limitations which I was not fully aware of at that time. These clowns got away. I still see the workshop/station with a fancy new $150K Ford F 450, lifted and decked out parked outside every time I pass by the area.

Ironic you can't find a lot of info online about roberts spill response and restoration.. this is the only mention you can find of them anywhere which is odd for a business.

The company is literally 'cleaning up'!

I got rear ended sitting at a red light, the guy was doing 60 and fell asleep. Totaled both cars, he had fluids all over the place. Unfortunately he had no insurance, yet I have not seen one bill for cleanup service. This must be something that city created. I bet the dpw there doesn’t spend that much on cleanup. So why bother contracting it out?

Removing contaminated soil… & then putting that still contaminated soil in a land fill… that guy needs locked up!

These scams happen everywhere in AZ the cost for a tow and storage of vehicle is capped but if the car was impounded or towed at the request of police the tow yard can charge whatever they want. So if your car sits in tow yard by your choice its $10 a day if its in a collision or you get arrested the same car at same tow yard taking up the same space is $90 a day. Its good money to have government contracts and low moral standards.

That kind of cleanup bill only comes when you dump a significant amount of vehicle fluid directly into the ground or into an open drain. That's ridiculous for a pavement crash. Maybe 50 bucks for kitty litter and clean up but that's it

This is a first! I've never heard of accident cleanup fees before. Sounds like a scam!

Guy who owns the company sounds like an a hole. “Everything today is outrageous”….so that’s why I have to charge outrageous prices! “We only get paid for half the jobs we do!”…..sounds like you need a better business model, or a whole different business in general. “I’m not going after the individual, just their insurance company!”….that’s part of why everyone’s insurance rates are going up…you’re part of the problem bud. Was that his lawyer to his left, to be sure he didn’t answer any questions he shouldn’t?

What is the cost for clean up after a house fire? Lots of water runoff and soil to be tested.

Omg thats highway robbery

City can’t pay a firemen who protects its residents but look at this Omg 😱

They are cleaning all right, even when the spills are never cleaned up or touched.

In FL is the roofers, in Taylor is the cleaning crew.

Kind of like the Fox watching over the Chicken Coop ! The tow operator is a SHYSTER , has the fortitude of becoming a POLITICIAN !

Wow you could have almost bought four Big Macs in California for that price

I worked a wrecker for a few weeks in CA in the early 1980s. Cleanup back then was a bag of kitty litter, a roll of paper towels, a 5 gal bucket, an industrial dustpan, and a broom. We'd get body parts, glass fragments, and fluids out of the roadway in a matter of 15 minutes. What's this 3 months of work CRAP?

Wow!!! Never ever have I heard of something like this!!!

Blatant corruption.

Just listening to that dude trying to justify the insane price makes me think of a word that sounds a lot like _b_ook.

I’m assuming that is the owners lawyer sitting next to him for a news interview. That brings the question if he thinks his bills are legit why have a lawyer with him for the interview?

Wow when I clean my shop floor I'm getting way underpaid

Insurance company will just increase your insurance rates beyond beyond your ability to pay and soon they will be leaving your town because this will impact everyone in your town. I sent my insurance company packing because of their rates and they asked me why I told them that I don’t need a reason just cancel the dam insurance.

Taylortucky, the worst city in Michigan/ He should be in prison

The city workers are receiving kickbacks.

Ive been in 2 accidents in TX never heard of this at all.... one the car was bit from behind and gas spilled but they just used kitty litter and cleaned it easilly. Thank goodness i never encountered this.

Taylor tucky 😢😢😢😢

3:54 Another reason people are done with MSM. A reference to "compliance with state statutes" but no explanation of what statutes. Are those "state statutes" one of the reasons Michigan has the highest auto insurance rates in the country?

Erm. Simple question: how much do other companies charge to do similar work? I assume there is more than one company that goes around cleaning after crashes...

Fire department cleaned up the day of the wreck three days before his company even showed up to clean up

Wtf

It's a racket!!! I live and work in the County of Los Angeles. As a Deputy, I handle traffic collisions. The Tow Companies sweep up the Debris and the Fire Dept washes down the area at no charge!

Throw the towing / cleanup guy in jail. This is a fraud

Follow the money. Follow the crooked city council individuals. Wait for days to "clean" an accident scene? So what about all the cars and traffic that drove over that very "dirty" accident site? Congratulations to the City of Detroit -- you've found a way to get blood out of a turnip! One more reason your citizens are leaving as FAST AS THEY CAN!!!

Replace the city council next elections and change the law.

What a scam. He should go to jail and pay those people back in full before he’s released. Be whomever was in charge of his oversight needs to be fired. Every town has its scammers, but this is ridiculous. I’m guessing he knows the EPA chief.

This situation is NUTS!

Racketeering at its finest!!!

Just another reason to move out of Michigan. And believe me...the list is quite, quite long.

At least Taylor gets accident cleanup. In the Roseville/Warren/Eastpointe area the roads are strewn with metal, plastic, and glass debris from accidents that doesnt get cleaned up at all. also spilled oil and antifreeze left to wash into the sewers. Big parts like mirrors, tailights, and even whole bumpers get left on the curb by the towing companies. Southeast MI. roads are a real mess.

@ClickOnDetroit Good coverage for your community! I'm not from Detroit or even close to Michigan, but you're doing the area a great service investigating!

What happens when you vote to let the government pick who does the work.

That man is a thief

So let me get this straight. In other cities, municipalities, townships and boroughs a portion of everyone’s taxes in that locale go towards a city or county fund that takes care of stuff like that. So what are those residents tax dollars being used for? The reason it is done this way is to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, like we see here where a towing company also has a hazardous material clean up company associated with it.

Not just is he running a scam, he is in cahoots with someone in the council who keeps hiring him without transparent bidding and will probably now try to cover up his/her actions. And a mayor saying yes to an interview then cancelling is standard procedure for avoidance/mitigation.

These guys are a rip off!!