A father became furious after he said a tow truck company tried to hook them with a nearly $1,000 bill.
Stuart Foster’s daughter, Sarah, called him after she hit a curb driving home on I-70 but not before a tow truck showed up behind her.
Foster explained Sarah was driving back from a doctor’s appointment. “She recently had a bone marrow transplant and leukemia and some other problems, so she was coming back from a doctor's appointment, had the accident and just wasn't up to dealing with it and thought that she could trust the tow truck driver and she couldn't."
Foster said he tried to stop the tow company before they had even moved the car off the highway but was told it was too late.
In Kansas City, tow truck drivers cannot solicit cars unless they are called. But once hooked up, the driver’s on the hook.
“The police tell you it's a civil matter at that point, once they touch your car they have a mechanic's lien so you can't just get your car and take it back home," said Foster.
After the driver towed the car 13 miles, Foster said the bill tripled. "He had my daughter sign a blank tow bill. In between he filled it out and instead of $256, he filled it out for $980."
After 41 Action News went to the tow lot to ask about the predatory towing practices, the owner eventually apologized and said he’d waive all $980 in fees if his company wasn’t named.
It was a resolution the Fosters could accept but hopes others don’t fall victim to any predatory towers in the future.
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Shannon Halligan can be reached at shannon.halligan@kshb.com.
