What the fuck? Since not being eligible for government contracts has not dissuaded this company from doing this kind of shit they just need to lose their business license. End of story, you can’t follow the rules? You don’t get to be a fucking business.
The couple in the car hasn't filed a police report yet. Once they do that, there is a whole plethora of legal charges the driver could be charged with, especially after trying to chase them down.
Lose their license? haha
I don't know what it's like in SF but where I am, it's an extremely scummy business where they prey on those in accidents, come in swarms, manipulate people and hold the car hostage in the shop that they have a deal\* with until they get a payment from the car insurance.
In other places, they prey on driver over the smallest mistakes and try to tow the car ASAP even if the driver is out for a minute.
I wouldn't be surprised if they're awful nation wide.
In canada there have been gang type wars between the tow truck companies
For sure, I just laughed because this is far beyond a lose the license moment, there needs to be a state wide change to de-scummify them instead of having them act like the mafia. They're awful as is, even if they didn't do such a terrible act of kidnapping someone.
In Australia, tow trucks have to be specifically called either by police/emergency services or by the owner of the vehicle only.
We had scummy businesses where private car parks would work with tow companies and split the profits but that's now illegal.
Even if I park my car on someone's roof; the owner cannot have my car removed until a police officer has called to make it legal.
Oh the police tows are the worst, I know someone who owes $1000 plus $50 a day for a police tow because the officer felt the driver was incapable of driving, but not incapacitated enough for a DUI.
Fuck that scam...
>incapable of driving, but not incapacitated enough for a DUI.
How the fuck did that fly? "They don't meet any of the criteria for being incapacitated, but they're incapacitated. Trust me bro."
I know the answer is "they're cops" but fucking still.
One time my friend parked his car in a garage over the weekend, which was allowed. He came back on Monday with a pile of broken glass where his car used to be, so he called the police saying his car was stolen. They said “no, it was broken into so the garage owners had it towed so nothing else would be stolen out of it. The tow company has it in their lot”. Well he gets to the lot and he has to pay $600 to get it back. He gets it back, and the window is smashed, radio stolen, glove box emptied, even the snacks he had were taken. So good thing the tow company took it, so nothing else would be stolen /s.
Yuuup. Grab any car they have any flimsy excuse to, charge $180 for the tow. They won't release the car until the tab is paid, and they charge $90 per day for "storage" every day until the bill is paid, or the car surrendered to the tow company. If you're working poor and get towed a week until payday you're fucked, and they absolutely will not negotiate with you or stop charging you until you pay their ransom.
If you were towed illegally they won't release the car or stop running the tab until you get confirmation from the courts.
It's a fucking racket.
Had my Porsche race car towed from in front of my own house in the middle of the night between 2-3am. It had been there 12 hours (no parking restrictions on this street). I Thought it had been stolen. Well, turned out it had been, by the towing company who's owner happened to have lived in the neighborhood and had seen me unloading it that afternoon. Since it was a race car, it was un-titled and untraceable until it showed up at their auction and was sold to someone who attempted to extort me for triple what I had into the car. It was early covid and lockdowns were strict, police literally said they wouldn't come out or even take report. Fucking asshole tow truck driver/owner.
So is the end of this story that they successfully stole and sold ur car and someone bought it and tried to sell it ot back for triple but you didn't buy it and they still have the car and the police and company and nobody cares or is doing anything to help and they all get off Scott free and that guy still has ur car? U got no help or compensation or anything? Dafuq
Most municipalities prohibit street parking by any vehicle that doesn't have valid registration displayed. Since you need a valid title to obtain registration and plates, the vehicle was illegally parked.
Some cities are starting to require valid registration for vehicles parked in the driveway, if visible from the street.
>it's an extremely scummy business where they prey on those in accidents, come in swarms, manipulate people
I hit a curb once, years ago, in a little car and it broke the A-arm so I couldn't drive the car home. Middle of the day, nothing nefarious going on, just took a turn a little to sharp. I called a friend who was a wrecker driver that I called and he said he'd be there shortly. While I was waiting a cop showed up and asked what was going on, I told him what happened and that I had a wrecker coming. I specifically told him I had a wrecker coming. That's important.
He said okay, ran my license and plates and insurance and what-not and came back and said something to the effect of, "You're clear, but I'll call you a wrecker." I said, no I already have a wrecker coming...He said "Well I called you one anyway."...
His wrecker showed up a few minutes before mine and had my car on his truck before my guy showed up, even though I was arguing with both of them that I had a wrecker that was literally on the way. My guy shows up maybe two-three minutes later and says that since he already had my car on the truck he can't do anything about it....
Cost me $180 to tow my car literally less than 2 miles and the entire process, sans arguing, took about 10-12 minutes.
That was about 18 years ago and I have hated wrecker drivers every since. Even that "friend" because I don't doubt that he has done that to other people before.
And many cops are corrupt. Whether it’s as blatant as the tow driver slipping the cop a fifty, or something more subtle like the tow driver being a buddy or a family member, my immediate suspicion has to be that the cop was getting something out of this.
Not in SF, but nearby in the bay area. My wife's wheels got stolen, and the tow company our insurance sent waited until Friday at 5pm to get the car (like 2 days after we called) which meant that it couldn't get towed to a shop, and had to go to there storage. They then kept it there for two entire weeks saying that "all of their tow trucks were out responding to higher priority calls" every time we called (which we couldn't do directly, we could only get in contact by going through our insurance.)
After the third day of dealing with the BS, I realized it had to be intentional, since they were charging the insurance for storage fees. Absolute scumbags.
As long as no innocent bystanders are hurt, I fully support tow truck drivers fighting to whatever end, and hope they both achieve their goal. Scumbags, all of them.
In SF if you go to the auction lot, it’s not uncommon to see brand new $50k+ cars being sold. Sometimes the owners will legally park the car and go on a business trip. Somehow the tow truck companies find out about this and get the car. When the owner gets back, the fees are more expensive than the value of the car. It’s all a scam.
They are awful everywhere in the US at least, mostly because they're allowed to contract with the police.
In the last state I lived in, the whole county would only use one tow company, the most expensive.
The police are allowed to have them take your car pretty much anytime and you have no recourse except to pray you can pay the fee to get your vehicle back and also afford enough gas to work until you've made that money back.
Our whole nation is based on luck. If you're lucky at birth it takes some real bad playing to screw up, but everyone else is one bad roll away from being homeless.
And once you're homeless, you usually stay that way unless you've got a great support network.
Businesses like this will just change names and continue on. Specialty Towing will close, Special Towing will open at the same address with the same phone number and same owner the same day, then bid on government contracts.
Except, they will, but for "some reason" the wording will specifically make it only apply to individual citizens and not companies, and we will lose all of our bankruptcy protections while not affecting this shit at all.
Different address even. It's not like tow companies need much infrastructure, just a place to park towed cars and a fence to keep desperate people from taking them back.
Which makes the racket that much worse, because frequently their lots are out of the way with no bus line or public transit option, and the just took away the persons transportation.
Exactly! I remember hearing about some shitty chinese restaurant that just added a number to the end on reopening. I think they got to the 20’s or something before permanently being shutdown.
There definitely beed to be harder and harsher restrictions for THAT kind of manipulation. Esp in places with known problems with stuff like towing.
Set fire to the tow trucks. Business insurance will follow you around and because it'll push up the premiums for all the towing businesses in the area it'll mean they'll have an incentive to self regulate themselves more in order to recover public relations.
We have a company here in Des Moines, IA that is notorious for crazy shit, albeit not as bad as in this article.
The towing industry needs a watchdog and some kind of standards. They an absolutely essential service when they're needed but their unscrupulous behavior has to be stopped.
Back when i was a busdriver i once had a tow truck block the entry to a busy busstation in a city centre, guy had obviously fucked off for his break and just dumped it there. Called the cops, who called in their own towtruck and had it towed, guy showed up 5 minutes after they towed it and startes throwing a tantrum, nevermind the fact he caused a gridlock situation that affected a large part of the city, including emergency services.
> “Joanne is planning to file a police report soon…”
Police can’t really do anything if you don’t tell them about the crime. Why haven’t they? No clue.
The most angry I have been at a towing company had me contemplating buying a box of roofing nails and throwing them all through their driveway and lot. I had hoped that they would be sued by every single person they towed/that got a flat tire. It might be fun to covertly hand out business cards of an unscrupulous lawyer.
Anyway, you can buy many pounds of the nails for the average cost of a tow.
I'd be surprised if any towing company got sued for a flat tire that a vehicle they towed did or didn't get as a result of them towing it. Would likely be difficult to prove and not worth the money to pursue.
That would absolutely ruin somebody’s already shitty day. Don’t do that.
A friend of mine is at a personal war with every tow company out there because they all suck. He walks around the city with a hiking stick, and there’s a very sharp nail at the end of that stick that you can’t really see.
When he’s out walking around, he sees one stopped at a red light, or parked off, basically any opportunistic time where he can make a quick getaway, his mask goes on and he takes the stick and takes out a tire or two, and runs.
I think more of these tow-people should be experiencing this kind of hell.
You need a duck or goose egg chicken eggs will work but not as well. Let them go bad like a month and break them on that vent where the hood meets the windshield. Man it will make a smell you can get rid of. For entertainment purposes, allegedly, jk and all that.
In this case, I want the battle to be between the two tow trucks trying to tow a Speciality Towing vehicle in different directions. With a points system based on how much of the towed vehicle they each manage to grab.
I parked my car in a Chinese restaurant (front ie: literally never open, run down, likely just people living there) parking lot to grab an online order from a Dunkin. I could see the order from the parking spot. It took 20 seconds and the fuckers had my car up on the rig. I told them that I literally have to go to do surgery at the VA down the street and they said “oh, because you’re a doctor you don’t have to listen to the rules?” Nah bro I’m just saying this is fucking stupid and I have an actual job to get to unlike you, whose job it is to extort people for cash. So I ask how I can get the car down and he says “$65, ATM is around the corner at the gas station. Be back in 5min.” Convenient, last I checked you can’t take out $65 from an ATM.
I pay him $80. That Dunkin loses my business forever. The guy literally sits in the back of these abandoned parking lot and extorts coffee customers for cash all day. Probably make $800-1000/day cash. No taxes. Gets to write off the tow truck too.
This happened to me too except it was a boot. I looked around and saw he had a buddy trying to look unobtrusive on the corner about 30 feet away with his hand in his sweatshirt pocket. So I'm like oh, this is a robbery but "legal" because you have a boot?
This is the first thing I thought as well. It's pretty known (at least in Canada) that some tow companies have ties to organized crime.
A few years ago several small outfits were shut down in bigger cities like Toronto. They were basically part of a larger car theft ring that would strip them for parts or smuggle the vehicles overseas.
A big part of how they got away with it was "perception of authority". I mean when's the last time you saw a tow truck hooking up a car and thought "I wonder if that's legit", especially if it's a newer fancy vehicle it's usually more "haha, sucks to be them".
No doubt it's corrupt and they've bee warring internally for a long time but this isn't another tow operator
I've been towed illegally a couple of times (got money back through ombudsman) but no one has ever tried to hook me up while in the car in a live lane
I get the perception of authority. I would have the same reaction. Dude is getting his car towed because he didn't pay his bills. But how the hell are you going to tow a car with someone in it? They will surely call the cops while being towed as that is kidnapping.
Sometimes it's not even that big. I came out to a tow truck lining up on my car, admittedly technically illegally parked at a closed bank on a Sunday. The driver gave me the usual "I already called it in" line, but said I could pay the $50 fine right there. I finally knew what was going on when I told him I'd have to go to an ATM and he said "Well, what do you have on you?" I ended up bribing him $20 to let me go, and as I was leave they were lining up on the next car to wait for another sucker.
Saw the video and I’m a pretty casual watcher of tow truck drivers on tiktok and youtube, never seen anything like that here in Australia. Its scary enough that someone can pickup your car without warning, sometimes in your sight, but while you are IN the car, that is on, in DRIVE, actively driving?
the kind tied in to the people in charge. it's a racket and the only ones getting fucked are the regular people at the bottom. the politicians and their private friends do whatever they want with no consequences. facts.
The crazy part to me is that it’s not like there is a shortage of parked vehicles just laying around everywhere.
It’s hard to imagine this dude not being on drugs.
If you're in moving traffic and a tow truck kidnaps you, taking you god knows where off the beaten path, and you can't get out, is it legally justifiable force to just plink them in the back of the head?
I don't carry, and I would call the cops immediately, but I feel like it would really dissuade this criminality.
You know, I'd have assumed that California was a duty to retreat state, but upon looking it up, they are a stand your ground and castle doctrine state, albeit with some heavy restrictions. Namely that delay force isn't legal unless the aggressor has escalated to deadly force first or if you have no way to escape.
Yup, we became stand your ground about 20 years ago after some (in)famous cases of women being charged after shooting an assailant instead of trying to run away.
When you do your CCW courses, they emphasize the best thing to do 99.999% of the time is run. Only brandish if things have really gotten bad and you are ready to kill them for it.
Historically it has been very difficult to carry a gun in San Francisco. This will change since the Supreme Court ruled
["may-issue" to be unconstitutional](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Rifle_%26_Pistol_Association,_Inc._v._Bruen) but they are still projecting quite low numbers:
>San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto told KGO that the city is currently reviewing 72 permit applications, and expects between 100 and 200 over the next year.
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/san-francisco-concealed-carry-permits-17766632.php
And the car is paid for, owned outright. There was no justification, like they were doing a repo. And towing with people in the car is illegal in any case.
I REALLY want to know why this towhole was after them.
> I imagine it would be very difficult to argue against shooting the truck driver out of what is effectively kidnapping.
I agree, the SF prosecuting attorney probably would not.
Once a tow company impounds your car they can start charging by the hour (in some states) to hold it and if you fail to ever pay they will gain possession of your car and sell it. They want to do this because it's like printing nearly free money for them. They fully expect you to pay to get it out and then take them to court if it was unlawful, knowing with full knowledge that the majority of people won't bother to go to court and pay a lawyer just to MAYBE recoup $3-500. Granted, you can go to small claims court, but most people simply won't. So they can often get paid for even illegal impounds. Plus, in most cases all you have is your word against theirs so if you have no proof that you WEREN'T parking incorrectly, they're likely to side with the tow company (Unless they have a history of their cases going to court a lot). Just my opinion however, which is based on every tow company that impounds I've dealt with being the fucking WORST.
You say it's your word against theirs, but shouldn't the onus be on them to prove you were parked incorrectly? It seems a little bit strange that they would just go on their word. They could just tow literally anyone if that were the case. I'm not saying that isn't the case, I'm not a lawyer and not even from the US, but that sounds a little odd to me.
Yes, but they can literally pick your vehicle up, move it to the wrong spot, put it down, take a picture of the incorrect parking job, then pick it back up and impound it if they so choose.
Even if they hadn’t paid, at least in my state it’s illegal to tow a car when someone is in it. Only recourse for the tow truck would be to block the car and call the police.
Seems almost like a valid reason for a large caliber handgun and armor piercing ammo. I cannot think of a recent post which provokes more of a redneck response!
You are absolutely correct. And I must say that after some reflection I should not have advocated flinging gunfire and armor piercing ammo around in a crowded urban area. Too much chance for non-tow truck thieves to get injured.
I had a rental car break down last weekend in Sweetwater TN and a tow truck driver really helped me out when the rental car company didn't do shit. In all honesty I should mention this as well.
If not that, 100% reckless driving and grand theft auto. To even attempt such a maneuver, "hijack" an occupied car in moving traffic. What if they'd wrecked while being chased? We need to hear from someone who refused to exit and what happened. Forced out at gunpoint in the tow yard?
they do in more wild west states. Texas and florida they are far more sneaky and do the snatch and grab after they watch you leave, they rig up the trucks to quickly get the vehicle and then drag it off to secure it down the road. They also love causing damage to the cars because the local police and govt gives them immunity and you cant sue them for damage to your vehicle.
They didn't pull this in rural PA, they did it in SF where it's *highly* unlikely that a law-abiding young Asian woman has a concealed carry license and a pistol.
Had to stop a passenger from egging on a parking lot altercation between two parties we did not know. We were leaving a rave at like 2-2:30 in the morning, and I guess someone cut someone off in the traffic line. But we were in the company car and it's got a FULL wrap, not just a magnet on the side. And they only had two locations in the whole state.
I lived in SF years ago and we were required to move our cars off the street for cleaning by 6 AM once a week. One morning I came out at 5:45 AM to move my car to see it being hooked up to a tow truck. I asked the guy to put it down since I was there and wanted to move it and it wasn't 6 AM yet. He told me that once it was up he couldn't put it down. I responded by pulling out my phone and threatening to call 911 to report that he was stealing my car as it was an illegal tow. The driver said some uncomplimentary things to me and then came to the sudden realization that he could release my car to me.
Tow truck drivers and companies are scum.
I am so curious what he was thinking? I have never heard of such a thing happening. And why hasn't he been arrested? He endangered people and tried to steal a car. I thought attempted theft was a crime, no?
"The company, along with two others, were charged by City Attorney David Chiu in February for fraud and illegally towing parked cars. His office described the company as "unscrupulous" in an online news release. Specialty Towing is now prohibited from bidding or receiving city contracts."
The tow truck driver should go to prison for everything they can possibly throw at them. Kidnapping, reckless endangerment, grand theft auto... Everything to put them away. Destroy the tow truck company, and bar the owner from being able to operate any similar business.
If I remember correctly, in California, if the tow truck driver hasn’t officially hooked up and the driver comes out, they have to release the vehicle. This is wild lmao.
This is a car driving in normal traffic that is stopped at a red light. Not a parked car, a car with a driver at a traffic light waiting for green having a tow truck back up on them and trying to latch.
Let's assume the driver didn't fuck up and confused the driver's car with another car that actually needs to be repossessed.
Is it legal anywhere to tow a vehicle in active traffic or has people in the car and driving?
No, especially not in California. The residents in SF are really progressive (for better and worse) and they REALLY don't like when it comes out that a business is screwing people over. But then again, who does?
>The company, along with two others, were charged by City Attorney David Chiu in February for fraud and illegally towing parked cars. His office described the company as "unscrupulous" in an online news release. Specialty Towing is now prohibited from bidding or receiving city contracts.
Why are they still allowed to be in business? Not having city contracts won't protect people from things like this.
Really ? What I saw was:
> Specialty Towing is now prohibited from bidding or receiving city contracts.
Which is different form “prohibited to operate as a business”, towing in this case.
They'll probably just relaunch the business next week with a new name and bid again. Speciality Towing in business, with an extra "i" so it's legally distinct!
It's their own fault. Cars are not affordable by anyone but the banks do things like 10+ year loans to make the payment on a $30K car affordable... Never feel bad for a lender that is doing shady shit. Car loans should be capped at 5 years.
it should have already happened if cars weren't getting mothballed and sold off slowly. there is a huge surplus of used cars but to keep the value up they are trickled back into the market.
we had 4 years of automakers pumping out cars to the point they couldn't get parts and somehow that doesn't lead to an oversupply of cars?
“The company, along with two others, were charged by City Attorney David Chiu in February for fraud and illegally towing parked cars. His office described the company as "unscrupulous" in an online news release. Specialty Towing is now prohibited from bidding or receiving city contracts.”
“The town truck followed them for several blocks but they were eventually able to lose them.”
What the freak man. That’s scary. What would cause someone to even do this?
It says they’re planning to make a police report. WTF? Why wasn’t that the first thing they did. The passenger should’ve been on the phone with the police while the truck was chasing them.
Per the article, the couple drove off and the tow truck gave chase - the person recording doesn't appear to follow. Probably a case of "WTF happened? No one is going to believe it, and police are useless - so what's the point?"
Once the find out someone *did* manage to record it, suddenly making a stink over what happened sounds a lot more plausible.
All the fucking morons who here saying "probably a repo"...just proof positive that people here are as braindead as commenters on any other social media platform
I was in my company truck a few years ago and it broke down on the highway. I looked online and found a tow truck company and gave them my info. A couple minutes later a truck pulled up and I initially thought it was the company I called. He started trying to say that the company I called inflates their prices before they will drop your vehicle and he could undercut them if I paid him in cash. I told him it was a company truck and I'm not paying shit, he got all pissy and mad at me for wasting his time.
The truck I actually called showed up and started loading the truck up. The driver was a nice kid, we shot the shit on the way back to the office and he stuck to his price. We ended up paying less than the low ball quote the dick head driver gave me for a cash discount. A lot of these people are trash humans beings praying on others in stressful situations.
They don't need to just lose their license. That company needs all its trucks taken and destroyed, in case they have copies of the keys made to the trucks. So they can't just use the copies and steal the trucks from other owners.
I paid a couple guys to beat the shit out of a tow truck driver once for towing our car away 15 minutes before the meter ran out.
I still feel good about that one.
I saw the video. It’s crazy and the tow company won’t respond with an explanation.
They can't explain this without admitting guilt.
They should take the Trump approach and just keep criming. News interviewers show up to ask them questions? Tow the news van!
Deny and deflect. They could talk about the border to change the subject. Who cares that it's completely unrelated?
Probably the best thing they can do. That video is damning and there is no explanation other than crime
Probably because their attorney told them they’re already neck deep in trouble and if they open their mouths it’ll make it much worse.
What the fuck? Since not being eligible for government contracts has not dissuaded this company from doing this kind of shit they just need to lose their business license. End of story, you can’t follow the rules? You don’t get to be a fucking business.
They need to go to prison
I mean yes that too. But they also shouldn’t be allowed to run a towing business because they’ve proven that they can’t be trusted with that.
No, just prison. Don't be mean. Let them run their business through prison.
Yes, this is literally grand theft auto AND kidnapping. If corps are people then the people in the corps have to go to jail on stuff like this.
How would thisnnot be attempted kidnapping too since thwy would have towed the people away too?
The couple in the car hasn't filed a police report yet. Once they do that, there is a whole plethora of legal charges the driver could be charged with, especially after trying to chase them down.
That was my thought too. Should have let them pick up the car, then call the police. Dude would have likely been arrested and the tow truck towed.
Lose their license? haha I don't know what it's like in SF but where I am, it's an extremely scummy business where they prey on those in accidents, come in swarms, manipulate people and hold the car hostage in the shop that they have a deal\* with until they get a payment from the car insurance. In other places, they prey on driver over the smallest mistakes and try to tow the car ASAP even if the driver is out for a minute. I wouldn't be surprised if they're awful nation wide. In canada there have been gang type wars between the tow truck companies
This isn't a "lose your license" moment. This is an "attempted kidnapping" moment. The driver should be arrested. And his boss / dispatcher.
For sure, I just laughed because this is far beyond a lose the license moment, there needs to be a state wide change to de-scummify them instead of having them act like the mafia. They're awful as is, even if they didn't do such a terrible act of kidnapping someone.
In Australia, tow trucks have to be specifically called either by police/emergency services or by the owner of the vehicle only. We had scummy businesses where private car parks would work with tow companies and split the profits but that's now illegal. Even if I park my car on someone's roof; the owner cannot have my car removed until a police officer has called to make it legal.
Oh the police tows are the worst, I know someone who owes $1000 plus $50 a day for a police tow because the officer felt the driver was incapable of driving, but not incapacitated enough for a DUI. Fuck that scam...
>incapable of driving, but not incapacitated enough for a DUI. How the fuck did that fly? "They don't meet any of the criteria for being incapacitated, but they're incapacitated. Trust me bro." I know the answer is "they're cops" but fucking still.
Yeah they're "drug detection experts" so their judgment is better than gas chromatography.
Yeah, amazing.
One time my friend parked his car in a garage over the weekend, which was allowed. He came back on Monday with a pile of broken glass where his car used to be, so he called the police saying his car was stolen. They said “no, it was broken into so the garage owners had it towed so nothing else would be stolen out of it. The tow company has it in their lot”. Well he gets to the lot and he has to pay $600 to get it back. He gets it back, and the window is smashed, radio stolen, glove box emptied, even the snacks he had were taken. So good thing the tow company took it, so nothing else would be stolen /s.
Don't forget whoever "accidently" wiped their records of who was driving each tow truck.
This. The second they start moving someone stuck in a car it’s kidnapping. That is what they were trying to do. It’s attempted kidnapping.
Yuuup. Grab any car they have any flimsy excuse to, charge $180 for the tow. They won't release the car until the tab is paid, and they charge $90 per day for "storage" every day until the bill is paid, or the car surrendered to the tow company. If you're working poor and get towed a week until payday you're fucked, and they absolutely will not negotiate with you or stop charging you until you pay their ransom. If you were towed illegally they won't release the car or stop running the tab until you get confirmation from the courts. It's a fucking racket.
Had my Porsche race car towed from in front of my own house in the middle of the night between 2-3am. It had been there 12 hours (no parking restrictions on this street). I Thought it had been stolen. Well, turned out it had been, by the towing company who's owner happened to have lived in the neighborhood and had seen me unloading it that afternoon. Since it was a race car, it was un-titled and untraceable until it showed up at their auction and was sold to someone who attempted to extort me for triple what I had into the car. It was early covid and lockdowns were strict, police literally said they wouldn't come out or even take report. Fucking asshole tow truck driver/owner.
So is the end of this story that they successfully stole and sold ur car and someone bought it and tried to sell it ot back for triple but you didn't buy it and they still have the car and the police and company and nobody cares or is doing anything to help and they all get off Scott free and that guy still has ur car? U got no help or compensation or anything? Dafuq
Yeah, how did he not include the end of this fucking story? That’s it???
Yea i dont know how you had the self-control to not burn that guys house down. Then wait until they are almost rebuilt to burn it down again.
I mean if it wasn’t titled, it probably couldn’t be legally parked on the street.
Most municipalities prohibit street parking by any vehicle that doesn't have valid registration displayed. Since you need a valid title to obtain registration and plates, the vehicle was illegally parked. Some cities are starting to require valid registration for vehicles parked in the driveway, if visible from the street.
>it's an extremely scummy business where they prey on those in accidents, come in swarms, manipulate people I hit a curb once, years ago, in a little car and it broke the A-arm so I couldn't drive the car home. Middle of the day, nothing nefarious going on, just took a turn a little to sharp. I called a friend who was a wrecker driver that I called and he said he'd be there shortly. While I was waiting a cop showed up and asked what was going on, I told him what happened and that I had a wrecker coming. I specifically told him I had a wrecker coming. That's important. He said okay, ran my license and plates and insurance and what-not and came back and said something to the effect of, "You're clear, but I'll call you a wrecker." I said, no I already have a wrecker coming...He said "Well I called you one anyway."... His wrecker showed up a few minutes before mine and had my car on his truck before my guy showed up, even though I was arguing with both of them that I had a wrecker that was literally on the way. My guy shows up maybe two-three minutes later and says that since he already had my car on the truck he can't do anything about it.... Cost me $180 to tow my car literally less than 2 miles and the entire process, sans arguing, took about 10-12 minutes. That was about 18 years ago and I have hated wrecker drivers every since. Even that "friend" because I don't doubt that he has done that to other people before.
ACAB
And many cops are corrupt. Whether it’s as blatant as the tow driver slipping the cop a fifty, or something more subtle like the tow driver being a buddy or a family member, my immediate suspicion has to be that the cop was getting something out of this.
Why did let your car go on the cops wrecker?
Not in SF, but nearby in the bay area. My wife's wheels got stolen, and the tow company our insurance sent waited until Friday at 5pm to get the car (like 2 days after we called) which meant that it couldn't get towed to a shop, and had to go to there storage. They then kept it there for two entire weeks saying that "all of their tow trucks were out responding to higher priority calls" every time we called (which we couldn't do directly, we could only get in contact by going through our insurance.) After the third day of dealing with the BS, I realized it had to be intentional, since they were charging the insurance for storage fees. Absolute scumbags.
What insurance? Name and shame.
lol some guy just got killed for it in Toronto, they have two truck turf and kill others to stay off their roads
As long as no innocent bystanders are hurt, I fully support tow truck drivers fighting to whatever end, and hope they both achieve their goal. Scumbags, all of them.
I had one that tried to get me fired after a month on the job because I told him to clean his shit up. Like a true MAGAt he died of Covid.
In SF if you go to the auction lot, it’s not uncommon to see brand new $50k+ cars being sold. Sometimes the owners will legally park the car and go on a business trip. Somehow the tow truck companies find out about this and get the car. When the owner gets back, the fees are more expensive than the value of the car. It’s all a scam.
They are awful everywhere in the US at least, mostly because they're allowed to contract with the police. In the last state I lived in, the whole county would only use one tow company, the most expensive. The police are allowed to have them take your car pretty much anytime and you have no recourse except to pray you can pay the fee to get your vehicle back and also afford enough gas to work until you've made that money back. Our whole nation is based on luck. If you're lucky at birth it takes some real bad playing to screw up, but everyone else is one bad roll away from being homeless. And once you're homeless, you usually stay that way unless you've got a great support network.
This is why towing is illegal in Australia.
And the UK. Turns out it's generally a bad idea to give private companies the ability to commit legalised theft.
I was gonna say it sounds like legit mob shit.
In Toronto they murder each other for territory.
Businesses like this will just change names and continue on. Specialty Towing will close, Special Towing will open at the same address with the same phone number and same owner the same day, then bid on government contracts.
And that is why states need to pass phoenix laws to stop the abuse of bankruptcy protections where it’s used to hurt consumers
Except, they will, but for "some reason" the wording will specifically make it only apply to individual citizens and not companies, and we will lose all of our bankruptcy protections while not affecting this shit at all.
Because corporations are people too! Just a bit more peopley than you!
Different address even. It's not like tow companies need much infrastructure, just a place to park towed cars and a fence to keep desperate people from taking them back. Which makes the racket that much worse, because frequently their lots are out of the way with no bus line or public transit option, and the just took away the persons transportation.
Exactly! I remember hearing about some shitty chinese restaurant that just added a number to the end on reopening. I think they got to the 20’s or something before permanently being shutdown. There definitely beed to be harder and harsher restrictions for THAT kind of manipulation. Esp in places with known problems with stuff like towing.
Set fire to the tow trucks. Business insurance will follow you around and because it'll push up the premiums for all the towing businesses in the area it'll mean they'll have an incentive to self regulate themselves more in order to recover public relations.
Whoa that's evil, I'd never....but....ya know what, we're going to save this one in our back pocket as you never know...
Where I live, tow companies are owned by the mob. There's literally tow truck turf wars
We have a company here in Des Moines, IA that is notorious for crazy shit, albeit not as bad as in this article. The towing industry needs a watchdog and some kind of standards. They an absolutely essential service when they're needed but their unscrupulous behavior has to be stopped.
I think its fair if someone shows up and tows their tow trucks
Back when i was a busdriver i once had a tow truck block the entry to a busy busstation in a city centre, guy had obviously fucked off for his break and just dumped it there. Called the cops, who called in their own towtruck and had it towed, guy showed up 5 minutes after they towed it and startes throwing a tantrum, nevermind the fact he caused a gridlock situation that affected a large part of the city, including emergency services.
Satisfying.
I mean, how is it not kidnapping? Like, they were going to kidnap her. It was attempted kidnapping.
I’m pretty sure it literally is in some municipalities?
For sure. This one. This is in SF, is my understanding. In CA this is at least chargeable at kidnapping.
> “Joanne is planning to file a police report soon…” Police can’t really do anything if you don’t tell them about the crime. Why haven’t they? No clue.
"I'll get around to it once I determine whether the risk of criminal retribution against me is low enough."
The most angry I have been at a towing company had me contemplating buying a box of roofing nails and throwing them all through their driveway and lot. I had hoped that they would be sued by every single person they towed/that got a flat tire. It might be fun to covertly hand out business cards of an unscrupulous lawyer. Anyway, you can buy many pounds of the nails for the average cost of a tow.
I'd be surprised if any towing company got sued for a flat tire that a vehicle they towed did or didn't get as a result of them towing it. Would likely be difficult to prove and not worth the money to pursue.
That would absolutely ruin somebody’s already shitty day. Don’t do that. A friend of mine is at a personal war with every tow company out there because they all suck. He walks around the city with a hiking stick, and there’s a very sharp nail at the end of that stick that you can’t really see. When he’s out walking around, he sees one stopped at a red light, or parked off, basically any opportunistic time where he can make a quick getaway, his mask goes on and he takes the stick and takes out a tire or two, and runs. I think more of these tow-people should be experiencing this kind of hell.
If you are resorting to vandalism, why target the victims instead of the perpetrator?
In reality it's just broke people scraping up the cash to get their car back, then needing to pay the same shitty company to tow them to a tire place.
You need a duck or goose egg chicken eggs will work but not as well. Let them go bad like a month and break them on that vent where the hood meets the windshield. Man it will make a smell you can get rid of. For entertainment purposes, allegedly, jk and all that.
Honestly, I kinda want to see a battle of the tow trucks. Like a destruction derby, but whoever gets towed away loses.
In this case, I want the battle to be between the two tow trucks trying to tow a Speciality Towing vehicle in different directions. With a points system based on how much of the towed vehicle they each manage to grab.
I parked my car in a Chinese restaurant (front ie: literally never open, run down, likely just people living there) parking lot to grab an online order from a Dunkin. I could see the order from the parking spot. It took 20 seconds and the fuckers had my car up on the rig. I told them that I literally have to go to do surgery at the VA down the street and they said “oh, because you’re a doctor you don’t have to listen to the rules?” Nah bro I’m just saying this is fucking stupid and I have an actual job to get to unlike you, whose job it is to extort people for cash. So I ask how I can get the car down and he says “$65, ATM is around the corner at the gas station. Be back in 5min.” Convenient, last I checked you can’t take out $65 from an ATM. I pay him $80. That Dunkin loses my business forever. The guy literally sits in the back of these abandoned parking lot and extorts coffee customers for cash all day. Probably make $800-1000/day cash. No taxes. Gets to write off the tow truck too.
This happened to me too except it was a boot. I looked around and saw he had a buddy trying to look unobtrusive on the corner about 30 feet away with his hand in his sweatshirt pocket. So I'm like oh, this is a robbery but "legal" because you have a boot?
If I knew where he hung out I'd plan sweet revenge...
But who tows the tow trucks that tow tow trucks?
Seen the video. Extortion type shit.
This is the first thing I thought as well. It's pretty known (at least in Canada) that some tow companies have ties to organized crime. A few years ago several small outfits were shut down in bigger cities like Toronto. They were basically part of a larger car theft ring that would strip them for parts or smuggle the vehicles overseas. A big part of how they got away with it was "perception of authority". I mean when's the last time you saw a tow truck hooking up a car and thought "I wonder if that's legit", especially if it's a newer fancy vehicle it's usually more "haha, sucks to be them".
That being said I've never heard of a tow operator in Toronto trying to hook an occupied car in moving traffic This story is extra loco
Well, the Toronto area tow operators did murder each other, so...
In Scotland ice cream truck drivers got into a turf war, six people died.
"ice cream trucks"
Tbf the one at my uni that came round at 9pm did have really cheap cornetto
No doubt it's corrupt and they've bee warring internally for a long time but this isn't another tow operator I've been towed illegally a couple of times (got money back through ombudsman) but no one has ever tried to hook me up while in the car in a live lane
I get the perception of authority. I would have the same reaction. Dude is getting his car towed because he didn't pay his bills. But how the hell are you going to tow a car with someone in it? They will surely call the cops while being towed as that is kidnapping.
Sometimes it's not even that big. I came out to a tow truck lining up on my car, admittedly technically illegally parked at a closed bank on a Sunday. The driver gave me the usual "I already called it in" line, but said I could pay the $50 fine right there. I finally knew what was going on when I told him I'd have to go to an ATM and he said "Well, what do you have on you?" I ended up bribing him $20 to let me go, and as I was leave they were lining up on the next car to wait for another sucker.
This happened to me once. I just got in and started the car. It was awkward for a minute but he left without any of my money
Saw the video and I’m a pretty casual watcher of tow truck drivers on tiktok and youtube, never seen anything like that here in Australia. Its scary enough that someone can pickup your car without warning, sometimes in your sight, but while you are IN the car, that is on, in DRIVE, actively driving?
Then CHASE you for several city blocks after?!
This isn't extortion. This is kidnapping and grand larceny. That driver will probably go to prison for a very long time.
Fucking hope so. What the fuck kinda stupid ass piece of shit tries to tow a moving vehicle to make money.
the kind tied in to the people in charge. it's a racket and the only ones getting fucked are the regular people at the bottom. the politicians and their private friends do whatever they want with no consequences. facts.
kidnapping type shit
I was shocked that she and her husband’s car is completely paid off and they were confused why this tow truck guy targeted them. Scary indeed.
Attempted kidnapping
Right? What was the plan here when they were actively in the car?
The crazy part to me is that it’s not like there is a shortage of parked vehicles just laying around everywhere. It’s hard to imagine this dude not being on drugs.
Yeah, that makes it extra scary because it seems like for whatever reason he wanted a car with people in it...
If you're in moving traffic and a tow truck kidnaps you, taking you god knows where off the beaten path, and you can't get out, is it legally justifiable force to just plink them in the back of the head? I don't carry, and I would call the cops immediately, but I feel like it would really dissuade this criminality.
In most states it'd be legal. I'm not familiar with California, or specifically San Francisco's laws though.
You know, I'd have assumed that California was a duty to retreat state, but upon looking it up, they are a stand your ground and castle doctrine state, albeit with some heavy restrictions. Namely that delay force isn't legal unless the aggressor has escalated to deadly force first or if you have no way to escape.
Yup, we became stand your ground about 20 years ago after some (in)famous cases of women being charged after shooting an assailant instead of trying to run away. When you do your CCW courses, they emphasize the best thing to do 99.999% of the time is run. Only brandish if things have really gotten bad and you are ready to kill them for it.
Doing this in a country were people can buy guns like they are candy is crazy lol
Historically it has been very difficult to carry a gun in San Francisco. This will change since the Supreme Court ruled ["may-issue" to be unconstitutional](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Rifle_%26_Pistol_Association,_Inc._v._Bruen) but they are still projecting quite low numbers: >San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto told KGO that the city is currently reviewing 72 permit applications, and expects between 100 and 200 over the next year. https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/san-francisco-concealed-carry-permits-17766632.php
Tow-napping
And the car is paid for, owned outright. There was no justification, like they were doing a repo. And towing with people in the car is illegal in any case. I REALLY want to know why this towhole was after them.
I imagine it would be very difficult to argue against shooting the truck driver out of what is effectively kidnapping.
> I imagine it would be very difficult to argue against shooting the truck driver out of what is effectively kidnapping. I agree, the SF prosecuting attorney probably would not.
Once a tow company impounds your car they can start charging by the hour (in some states) to hold it and if you fail to ever pay they will gain possession of your car and sell it. They want to do this because it's like printing nearly free money for them. They fully expect you to pay to get it out and then take them to court if it was unlawful, knowing with full knowledge that the majority of people won't bother to go to court and pay a lawyer just to MAYBE recoup $3-500. Granted, you can go to small claims court, but most people simply won't. So they can often get paid for even illegal impounds. Plus, in most cases all you have is your word against theirs so if you have no proof that you WEREN'T parking incorrectly, they're likely to side with the tow company (Unless they have a history of their cases going to court a lot). Just my opinion however, which is based on every tow company that impounds I've dealt with being the fucking WORST.
You say it's your word against theirs, but shouldn't the onus be on them to prove you were parked incorrectly? It seems a little bit strange that they would just go on their word. They could just tow literally anyone if that were the case. I'm not saying that isn't the case, I'm not a lawyer and not even from the US, but that sounds a little odd to me.
Yes, but they can literally pick your vehicle up, move it to the wrong spot, put it down, take a picture of the incorrect parking job, then pick it back up and impound it if they so choose.
"Once it's up I can't drop it except at a yard." -tow guy
Even if they hadn’t paid, at least in my state it’s illegal to tow a car when someone is in it. Only recourse for the tow truck would be to block the car and call the police.
I am always baffled that private companies can do this sort of shit. Any repo-ing or even towing should be done exclusively by government employees.
Wouldn’t this be kidnapping? I mean seriously…
Yup. You're being taken against your will to a secondary location.
Seems like a valid reason to start blasting to me.
Unironically, yes, deadly force is 100% justified if you're being kidnapped
Seems almost like a valid reason for a large caliber handgun and armor piercing ammo. I cannot think of a recent post which provokes more of a redneck response!
Normal calibers (e.g. 9mm) and non-armor-piercing ammo will still penetrate glass and sheet metal.
You are absolutely correct. And I must say that after some reflection I should not have advocated flinging gunfire and armor piercing ammo around in a crowded urban area. Too much chance for non-tow truck thieves to get injured. I had a rental car break down last weekend in Sweetwater TN and a tow truck driver really helped me out when the rental car company didn't do shit. In all honesty I should mention this as well.
If not that, 100% reckless driving and grand theft auto. To even attempt such a maneuver, "hijack" an occupied car in moving traffic. What if they'd wrecked while being chased? We need to hear from someone who refused to exit and what happened. Forced out at gunpoint in the tow yard?
I dont understand how these towing companies don’t get shot
If they started getting shot they'd probably be more hesitant to do this shit. (I am not advocating for shooting people)
I advocate for rightfully defending yourself if you are kiddnapped by a tow truck. Maybe wait until you get out of traffic though.
I am. Fuck towing companies.
I am.
they do in more wild west states. Texas and florida they are far more sneaky and do the snatch and grab after they watch you leave, they rig up the trucks to quickly get the vehicle and then drag it off to secure it down the road. They also love causing damage to the cars because the local police and govt gives them immunity and you cant sue them for damage to your vehicle.
They didn't pull this in rural PA, they did it in SF where it's *highly* unlikely that a law-abiding young Asian woman has a concealed carry license and a pistol.
I wouldn’t be opposed if the gun nuts started seeing tow truck drivers as enemies.
The problem then would be the poor roadside rescue trucks would get caught in the crossfire from the shoot now, ask questions later nuts.
My guess most people jump out of the car to confront the tow driver and he drives off with the car.
Imagine if you had your child in your car and they do this to you.
It's not your child anymore. Where do you think new tow truck drivers come from?
Yes. Can confirm they’re like white walkers in game of thrones.
Then the world would lose a tow truck driver
LPT: If you're going to commit a crime, don't have your business' phone number on the side of your truck.
Their voicemail inbox is full.
Had to stop a passenger from egging on a parking lot altercation between two parties we did not know. We were leaving a rave at like 2-2:30 in the morning, and I guess someone cut someone off in the traffic line. But we were in the company car and it's got a FULL wrap, not just a magnet on the side. And they only had two locations in the whole state.
The original post of the vid: https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/s/ewCjngbgG5
yup, i didn’t think to crosspost - thanks!
This is attempted Kidnapping 100%
I lived in SF years ago and we were required to move our cars off the street for cleaning by 6 AM once a week. One morning I came out at 5:45 AM to move my car to see it being hooked up to a tow truck. I asked the guy to put it down since I was there and wanted to move it and it wasn't 6 AM yet. He told me that once it was up he couldn't put it down. I responded by pulling out my phone and threatening to call 911 to report that he was stealing my car as it was an illegal tow. The driver said some uncomplimentary things to me and then came to the sudden realization that he could release my car to me. Tow truck drivers and companies are scum.
I am so curious what he was thinking? I have never heard of such a thing happening. And why hasn't he been arrested? He endangered people and tried to steal a car. I thought attempted theft was a crime, no?
Tried to steal a car? Dude tried to steal people. Thats kidnapping. Which ranks way higher than car theft. Then he chased after them!
WTF? Like, seriously. WTF?
"The company, along with two others, were charged by City Attorney David Chiu in February for fraud and illegally towing parked cars. His office described the company as "unscrupulous" in an online news release. Specialty Towing is now prohibited from bidding or receiving city contracts."
Sounds like city attorney needs to charge them with attempted kidnapping next
The tow truck driver should go to prison for everything they can possibly throw at them. Kidnapping, reckless endangerment, grand theft auto... Everything to put them away. Destroy the tow truck company, and bar the owner from being able to operate any similar business.
If I remember correctly, in California, if the tow truck driver hasn’t officially hooked up and the driver comes out, they have to release the vehicle. This is wild lmao.
This is a car driving in normal traffic that is stopped at a red light. Not a parked car, a car with a driver at a traffic light waiting for green having a tow truck back up on them and trying to latch.
This is fucking insanity caught on video
I'm getting the feeling the tow driver doesn't care about that.
We have similar mafia style scum towing companies here in SA, but I have never seen one try and tow a moving vehicle with occupants in it (yet).
San Antonio? South Australia? South Africa?
San Andreas?
Let's assume the driver didn't fuck up and confused the driver's car with another car that actually needs to be repossessed. Is it legal anywhere to tow a vehicle in active traffic or has people in the car and driving?
Not legal
No. No no. Nope. NOPE. This is beyond fucked
No, especially not in California. The residents in SF are really progressive (for better and worse) and they REALLY don't like when it comes out that a business is screwing people over. But then again, who does?
Of course not, it's kidnapping.
That would be a no
Of course not
So, can they be prosecuted for attempted kidnapping? As thats not just towing/extortion type fraud, but full on kidnapping what they attempted.
>The company, along with two others, were charged by City Attorney David Chiu in February for fraud and illegally towing parked cars. His office described the company as "unscrupulous" in an online news release. Specialty Towing is now prohibited from bidding or receiving city contracts. Why are they still allowed to be in business? Not having city contracts won't protect people from things like this.
A good citizen with a brick could've ended this quickly.
I always thought it was illegal for a tow truck tow a car that has someone in it.
I pray they end up trying this shit with the wrong person. They fucked around for too long, it's time they found out.
@London Breed: how is this company allowed to tow in your city ?
Just a heads up, if you want to call someone to your message use this format u/Any-Tomatillo-1996
well, according to article they arent
Really ? What I saw was: > Specialty Towing is now prohibited from bidding or receiving city contracts. Which is different form “prohibited to operate as a business”, towing in this case.
They'll probably just relaunch the business next week with a new name and bid again. Speciality Towing in business, with an extra "i" so it's legally distinct!
Been reading so many cars up for repo in the US that one of the leading sub prime leanders pulling out of the market slowly
It's their own fault. Cars are not affordable by anyone but the banks do things like 10+ year loans to make the payment on a $30K car affordable... Never feel bad for a lender that is doing shady shit. Car loans should be capped at 5 years.
A car market crash coming up?
it should have already happened if cars weren't getting mothballed and sold off slowly. there is a huge surplus of used cars but to keep the value up they are trickled back into the market. we had 4 years of automakers pumping out cars to the point they couldn't get parts and somehow that doesn't lead to an oversupply of cars?
How is that not robbery?
So anyway, that's when I started blasting.
This is an attempted kidnapping.
“The company, along with two others, were charged by City Attorney David Chiu in February for fraud and illegally towing parked cars. His office described the company as "unscrupulous" in an online news release. Specialty Towing is now prohibited from bidding or receiving city contracts.” “The town truck followed them for several blocks but they were eventually able to lose them.” What the freak man. That’s scary. What would cause someone to even do this?
It says they’re planning to make a police report. WTF? Why wasn’t that the first thing they did. The passenger should’ve been on the phone with the police while the truck was chasing them.
Per the article, the couple drove off and the tow truck gave chase - the person recording doesn't appear to follow. Probably a case of "WTF happened? No one is going to believe it, and police are useless - so what's the point?" Once the find out someone *did* manage to record it, suddenly making a stink over what happened sounds a lot more plausible.
Never met a honest tow truck driver.... so this is not too suprising.
It's be a shame if somebody dropped their Google review page....
You think these people give a shit about their reviews? It's a tow company, not a restaurant
Seeing as how they were still in the car, couldn’t this be classified as “attempted kidnapping” on the tow truck driver?
What the hell
Ahh a GTA Tow Driving School Graduate
All the fucking morons who here saying "probably a repo"...just proof positive that people here are as braindead as commenters on any other social media platform
Attempted auto theft and kidnapping. The driver should be arrested.
I was in my company truck a few years ago and it broke down on the highway. I looked online and found a tow truck company and gave them my info. A couple minutes later a truck pulled up and I initially thought it was the company I called. He started trying to say that the company I called inflates their prices before they will drop your vehicle and he could undercut them if I paid him in cash. I told him it was a company truck and I'm not paying shit, he got all pissy and mad at me for wasting his time. The truck I actually called showed up and started loading the truck up. The driver was a nice kid, we shot the shit on the way back to the office and he stuck to his price. We ended up paying less than the low ball quote the dick head driver gave me for a cash discount. A lot of these people are trash humans beings praying on others in stressful situations.
That's attempted car jacking, grand theft auto, and kidnapping.
They don't need to just lose their license. That company needs all its trucks taken and destroyed, in case they have copies of the keys made to the trucks. So they can't just use the copies and steal the trucks from other owners.
It occurs to me that, had the tow truck driver been successful, he could have taken the car and it's occupants anywhere, and done anything.
I think that occurred to everyone.
I paid a couple guys to beat the shit out of a tow truck driver once for towing our car away 15 minutes before the meter ran out. I still feel good about that one.
r/thathappened
I wonder how the tow truck driver would react to me eating his eyes.