In a follow up to a 7 Action News investigation, Scott Lewis takes a deeper look at Larson's towing, a company many people say are towing their cars for no reason.
I work in law enforcement and we get call about this all the time . It even happened to my wife and daughter while they were at a McDonald's eating when they came out there car was gone . I made some calls and found the towing company they tryed to charge me 400 dollers for the tow and storage . When they found out I was a police sergeant they told me there would be no charge . I asked about all the other people that they tow that are eating in McDonald and they tow there cars they told me the people only have a half hour after that they can tow them . I called the owner of that McDonald's and told him what was going on it turned out that the person he had running the place was getting a kickback from the towing company for every car they towed .the owner put a stop to it and I now pull over towing trucks from that company every chances I get Iv handed out quit a few citation to them for diffrent things .
That's just sad. I know that some other fast-food franchises still have a 30 minute time limit after which they claim to have the right to tow the customer's vehicle. That kind of shady tactic could backfire on them though if someone needs more than 30 minutes to eat because they have a disability. Towing their vehicle for being a slow eater could lead to a lawsuit for discrimination against the disabled!
I've seen this before: The owners of the mall wants the restaurant and their using the towing company to harass the owners. It's actually a very common trick.
@@andyzeus6898 Yes, if it can be proven. That's the big problem. While one might suspect that some shady deal has been made, there usually isn't the kind of hard evidence that one would need to prove it in a court of law.
@@phillipwatson5515 Maybe if you're running a small-time grill restaurant like that you probably don't have the money to bring in construction crews and cement trucks to build a new carpark. Also, you need to own the land to do something like that so it'd cost millions probably.
You would think I mean I highly doubt there's a law that says" if you own a towing company and you're going around stealing peoples cars then it becomes a civil matter" Yeah I hardly doubt that exists so why is nothing being done about this...
fore,tow banditts like that,only one solution,brake his arms,legs,and bust his kneecaps,maybe that vill teach him a lesson,concrete,slippers,could be a last alt
If that was my restaurant I would be going to the land lord and filing charges against the land lord for loss of business. The land lord is the one hiring this disgusting tow truck driver.
+Gerrod Richardson even tho, there is still a loss in the amount of customers, something the law covers as Comercial Assets, she should sue the heck out of that place
You would actually have to prove that the landlord was conspiring what's the towing company to commit such act. Yes the landlord has the right to choose whatever company they want to hire as the towing company. unless they're specific evidence saying they were acting in concert together, there would be no legal grounds to go after the landlord.
I've seen worse, imagine coming out of your house to go to work in the morning and finding out your brand new truck had been towed out of your driveway because they claimed it was a abandoned derelict.
phydeauxddog this is illegal And is a criminal act, if I towed a random person's car I'd be down for auto theft so this should be no different , And tow truck drivers have been arrested for this in the past
@@etherraichu Then why does this video show Judge Judy *proving* that it is illegal, and awarding damages accordingly? Get your facts straight, if it's been proven illegal law enforcement agencies everywhere should be on the lookout for this tow truck scammer.
Our college apartment complex had issues with residents parking in visitors spots. So they started just towing everyone without checking for ownership stickers. One of the drivers tried to do it on a saturday night. He got the shit beat out of him by a few people. He had a history of doing it so nobody felt bad for him.
This is the problem with tow truck companies. They shouldn’t be able arbitrary tow vehicles. Tow truck companies should only be able to tow vehicles on request of property owners and the authorities.
I had BOTH my vehicles towed from the apartment complex we were living in at the time, simply cuz the live-in manager had a chip on her shoulder regarding us. She was a crazy drunk. She tried taking us to court, but the company that actually owned the property refunded all my money. 😝
That guy whose car was damaged should have sued the property owner. If they contracted with Larson's to tow the car, they're just as responsible. Easy win in Small Claims Court.
Why should he sue? They even said he works at the hospital and they don't allow hospital parking there. I'm betting that tow driver is dead on when he says 99% go there after the fact
@paulnovak833 And he also said he and his coworkers go there to eat for lunch and that would make him a CUSTOMER. I'm also pretty sure he parks in the employee parking lot at the hospital and that it's a shorter walk than parking in the diners parking lot.
I had a tow truck driver for a neighbor once, and he loved telling stories that ended with him taking out his tire iron, his pistol, or both, to deal with a tow victim...
Form an organization called Citizens Offence Prevention Service (COPS). With all the video present in our lives who need to spend millions on a trial and then house and feed them? They will get out and do it again. I'm just sayin...
The real question is why can the police never find the criminals and news journalists can? Second question is how has this guy managed to keep his towing license?
The same car, belonging to the owner of the restaurant, being towed 6 times should be some form of harrassment. Why are the police not doing something about that?
All the worthless police would have had to do was arrest the towing operator once for car theft of a diners employees car and they could have put a stop to it.
Maybe when nobody goes to the shopping center anymore because of this and stores move out the building owners may rethink renewing there. Contract lol ... just a thought for the fat tow guy.
They most likely didn’t have a contract in the first place....The business I worked at in Albuquerque NM back in 2012 had a similar issue and the tow company was freelancing.
This has happened to me before in Ybor City Tampa. I was in a Cuban restaurant and they towed me from a customers only lot. Plus they damaged the rear end of my car. It took me 11 months to get them to small claims court to get reimbursed for the tow fee and my damages. The judge was very upset with them and gave them a nice lecture. I have not gone back to the restaurant since. Which is a shame because they have great food.
It ain't no shame. They do not deserve your business since they screw customers around, costing them time, money, and frustration. Heck you should have posted on "Yelp" for others to know about that restaurant's policies.
The only thing I learn from this, is if you work for a thieving company you can get away with almost anything. A thief if you get caught you can or do get arrested. The law can be so blind.
grahame belton it seems like it's only if it's a revenue generating or drug related offence the police would take action. It just doesn't 'pay' to solve real crimes.
it's up to you. stick up for yourself. police, justice system, etc, are all corrupt. you're not at school anymore hit them and hit them hard... stomp on their balls, bouncy castle on their heads, f*cking hit them. have them clinging on to life in a hospital.. what are you even doing relying on the government. you're an adult. if anybody steals from you... fk cops... you bash them.
Commissar0617 First of all, it’s a Grand Cherokee, not a Cherokee. Either way, both are four wheel drive vehicles, not all wheel drive, so as long as the transfer case is in two wheel drive, the front drive line is free from the rear, and can be towed w/o dollies. Leave towing comments to tow operators.
Something doesn't add up here. Why would the shopping center owner pay for towing of its own customers? Why wasn't the shopping center owner interviewed?
That was not the property owner. She was the owner of the business who rented space in the mall. I suspect that the landlord was getting a cut of the towing fees, but there was no evidence pro or con presented for that.
the business can sue the towing company for loss if business. just to let everyone know. ive driven tow truck and if any damage is caused while your car is hooked to a tow truck ( no matter the reason) the tow company is legaly obligated to fix your car.
To Tom Larson: If you do NOT want to keep getting sued by law-abiding vehicle owners to the point where Judge Judy had to lose her temper against you, then do NOT tow the vehicles of law-abiding citizens.
I'm wondering why isn't this thief behind bars? Grand theft auto if a felony regardless if you have a high visibility vest or logo on a tow truck or not...it's stealing either way you look at it...
This is why I like my town. They did the opposite, they made multiple 2 hour parking lots into free all day parking for anyone first come first serve. It has helped downtown workers a ton
I had a tow company tried that some years ago. I was in a supermarket walking out when I saw the tow truck getting ready to tow. I called the police identified myself as a L.E.O. and confronted the tow driver. I told him plainly touch this SUV and you go to jail. The tow company was stripped of it's license
There is no such thing as "illegal parking" on private property. Property owners decide how they want people to park, not the goobermint. Any parking problems are 100% civil issues.
The parking lot owners are the main ones who can put a stop to it. I smell brother in law b.s. or kick backs to them from the money he is raking in. Also make complaints to whoever regulates the towing companies in that state they are usually pretty good on enforcing these crooked tow companies and will jerk their licence from them.
Your right the property didn't seem that busy, the parking wasn't full to capacity, property owners must been getting a piece of the action, to make up additional revenue.
this is why i ALWAYS take a picture of where i'm parked and any signs and make sure it has a timestamp. that serves two purposes, one it shows the parking spot, and 2, if the car is damaged by a towperson who wrongfully tows it, there is evidence that it wasn't that way when they hooked it.
Terry Tiell I don't understand how this isnt auto theft, he has no deal with the shopping center owners or anything he is literally stealing cars, that is a criminal act at this point That is no different than someone towing your car out of your driveway
Larson's Towing Company should be shut down and remain shut because the staff there are towing the vehicles of innocent people who frequent the restaurant in this video.
The same thing happened to me at IHOP in Los Angeles. I told him that I ate there. But IHOP handled it very differently. They personally drove me to the towing company and they paid for my car being towed. And they apologize to me. Detroit is obviously a very different place…
Major chain vs a 1 location restaurant. Who's owner is personally out $2,400 in just having her car towed 6 times (at $400 a pop)... Might not just be the city/state that's different.
STILL IN BUSINESS! Despite all this happening in 2014, Larson's is still in business in 2022, and according to Yelp, is still towing people's cars left and right. Also, Larson's is still delinquent in payments to suppliers and employees (According to Glassdoor, several former workers have not been paid!). Finally, customer reviews state Larson's is rude, slow to respond to messages, and charges additional fees on top of the $400.
The only time anyone can legaly tow an automobile is when the police requires the automobiles moved away from a crime scene, or the owner of the automobile request that they're automobile is moved.
Carl Bruschnig, Jr yea, cause I'm sure he leaves the vehicle unattended and unlocked so you can open the hood. Smh Better off to just beat the shit out of him.
David Perry pour paint remover over hood.Water base so it won't eat through your plastic soda pop container...that will make their day..fn ss holes...lol
there was a couple wrecker services in Indianapolis a few years ago that tried getting away with this and they caught hell for it a couple guys even beat the piss out of the spotter after it was on the local news stations. The city came down hard on them i think one of them ended up being shut down and several new ordinances got put in place to stop predatory towing
we had one company here in Buffalo doing the exact same thing called Jim Mazz Auto thing is they were brought down with a thug by the US Department and the FBI and they shut them down.
in the state of California you could parking lot for one hr not 55 minutes nor 58 minutes one hr after that you're car can be towed away. if anyone gets there 🚗 tow go to your local police department and talk to your. tow operation officer. take your receipt by law the tow company must give you a receipt of the tow.
The restaurant needs to invest in a little security camera system and have a big sign letting customers know that they will provide copies of security footage upon request.
I had a tow company screw me out of over $400 like this. I was able to show receipts proving I was shopping when I was towed but owner didn’t care and dared me to take him to court. I paid the money and over the next year any time I saw one of their trucks and could I would poke holes in the sidewalls of the tires with a pick. It made no noise and worked great. One time I was able to crimp the metal transmission cooler line shut with some vice grips I wish I knew how many transmissions they went through before they caught that one. Sure they screwed me out of $400 but it cost them a lot more.
I couldn’t imagine going somewhere to eat or shop and come out to find out my car got towed illegally. I’m curious how those assholes even know that the cars are customers/ employees or not.
I was picking up a frozen load from DFW area. The freezer warehouse was butted up against a Love's T/S. I was early for load. I'm parked in the bullpen area outside the gate. I went in to T/S for a quick shower and coffee. Walked out and was booted. This tweaker came to the truck and wanted 175.00 to take off the boot. "If you don't unboot the truck, we're going to have serious problems." She went and got some guy and he said "did you threaten my ol lady?" I told him what I told her as the police arrive. Showed the cop my Ratecon for pick up and delivery, cop told him he'd better unboot the truck, he's legally parked and you're now interfering with interstate commerce. Dude took it off😎
Recently in San Antonio,Texas the owner of a towing company got sentenced to 45 years in prison for charging higher than normal towing fees and illegal practices and everyone who worked in the office got sentenced as well. Texas doesn't fuck around.
He can take my car...If he wants to get beat to death. You can't steal my car and get away with it.The police don't want to do anything I'll take the law into my own hands.
So you’re telling me- that I can go around “towing” cars and forcing people to pay me to give it back?? I can steal cars and hold them for ransom??? Wow...