High towing bills after crashes leave drivers frustrated and confused

Mar Alegre got into a car crash at the worst time possible. It was late July and the 28-year-old was about to go on a long trip. While Alegre was waiting for police to arrive, assessing the damage, and wondering what the crash would cost, a tow truck that had “police rotation” emblazoned on its side arrived at the scene in West Philadelphia. The operator said he’d been sent by law enforcement.

“When I asked him how much it would cost, they said the insurance will pay for it,” said Alegre. Still in shock, Alegre signed a “towing agreement” slip that left the cost blank.

It wasn’t until a few days passed and the insurance company said that the tow wouldn’t be covered, that Alegre and partner Mar Sherman, 27, learned that the towing company, Recovery Unit 1 LLC, was charging them more than $900 for the tow, storage, and unexplained fees — hundreds of dollars more than maximum fees that companies in the city’s rotational towing system are permitted to charge.

Complaints to 311 and police were unsuccessful, and they were told that their best bet would be to pay the bill and take the business to small-claims court.

Yuliia, who didn’t want her last name published because of safety concerns, said she had a similar experience with Recovery Unit 1 LLC in December. She was told that insurance would foot the bill, and then was charged $2,800 for a tow and two-night storage. Councilmember Kendra Brooks’ office tried to help with limited success, but Yuliia still had to pay $2,000 to get her car back.

In both instances, the drivers say they were deceived by the West Philadelphia towing company, falsely told by workers from Recovery Unit 1 LLC that insurance would cover the tows, and led to believe that the business was affiliated with the city.

A Recovery Unit 1 representative who declined to give his name said that both cases sounded like misunderstandings, and that the business negotiates with people who don’t have car insurance or whose insurance doesn’t cover the tow.

“I’m not overcharging anyone for towing and storage,” said the representative.

The towed drivers say they don’t expect to get their money back, but hope others can learn from their mistakes.

One of the reasons Alegre and Sherman let their car be towed in the first place was that they believed the truck was part of the city’s rotational tow system, a preapproved list of tow companies dispatched to crash scenes. The system aims to prevent wreck-chasing and protect drivers from predatory behavior with caps on how much they can be charged for tows and storage.

Companies pay $150 a year plus fees to participate, and agree to caps on what they can charge. For example, a car under 11,000 pounds can generate a charge of up to $215 for a tow, and the company can’t tack on other “towing-related charges,” according to a city rotational towing web page. Storage for such cars is capped at $25 a day and prorated.

In an itemized receipt of Alegre’s final bill, the tow is $300, plus $45 a day for five days of storage, a $160 “admin fee,” a $200 “lot fee,” and $20 for “extra maint.” In all, their bill came out to $905, which their insurance wouldn’t cover.

“It felt like they were making up” the fees, said Sherman, adding that figuring out just who had taken their car was a puzzle in itself.

The truck that took their car read “ABT Response,” which had 6109 Hazel Ave. and 5258 Whitby Ave. listed as addresses on a business card. The other side of the card listed 6350 Baltimore Pike in Lansdowne as an address for Recovery Unit 1, the business billing them.

Feeling as though they had no recourse, the couple opted to pay the required cash as soon as possible to avoid accruing additional penalties. Recovery Unit does not take credit cards.

A police spokesperson said neither ABT Response nor Recovery Unit LLC is part of the city’s rotational towing program and that no towing company, even if it is in the program, is allowed to display a “police rotation” decal.

According to a city FAQ regarding the program, towers sent by police dispatch to the scene of a crash have a confirmation on their phone that drivers can ask to see. The city warns that the first tow truck to show up is not necessarily the one sent by police. The officer on site can also help drivers confirm which truck is working with the city.

And once the towing agreement is signed, drivers can be charged high fees, which an insurer may refuse to pay.

Yuliia was driving from Center City to West Philly on a rainy Sunday night in December when a driver pulled out of his parking spot without signaling, clipping her SUV and bashing her passenger door.

Yuliia and her two children were uninjured and the driver admitted fault. Shaken, Yuliia called her insurance company, which was closed for the night, and exchanged information with the driver. Because no injuries occurred, no police officer would be coming to the scene, the drivers were told over the phone.

A tow truck showed up, she said, claiming to have been sent by her insurer and telling her she would pay nothing in the end. Yuliia, who was new to owning a car, signed a “towing agreement” that didn’t say how much she’d owe.

It was only when Yuliia started to file an insurance claim that night that discrepancies began piling up. The tow company was not on an approved list provided by her insurer. Her car’s GPS said it was in West Philadelphia, but the business card she was given had a Lansdowne address. She said when she tried to pick up her car, she was told the lot was closed for the day. When she returned the next day, she was told she’d have to pay $2,800.

“I was thinking I’m losing this car forever because they’re going to increase charges or they can steal it and I won’t know,” she said.

Yuliia sought advice from a neighbor, who connected her with Charlene Samuels, a constituent services representative at Brooks’ office.

Samuels said that even she found the process onerous. The City Council staffer said a Recovery Unit employee told her that everything was above board, and that Yuliia was mistaken about the $2,800 bill.

Yuliia said her insurer talked Recovery Unit 1 down to $2,000, but she still had to pay that amount up front and in cash, borrowing money from a neighbor. She did not get an itemized receipt.

In a brief conversation with The Inquirer, a representative of Recovery Unit 1 insisted that his prices were on par with those of other towing companies.

“I work with everybody. I would’ve worked something out with her,” he said of Yuliia’s bill, adding that he was under the impression she’d be getting reimbursed by her insurance, though she’s unsure whether that will happen.

He apologized for confusion that his business cards may have caused. The business used to be based in Lansdowne, but moved to Philly in December. He said that the address on Whitby Avenue was used for spare storage, and that ABT is a business his company partners with. The representative also said he charges what is required to pay his staff. Before the call was disconnected, he offered to “work” with the disgruntled customers in exchange for keeping the story out of the media.

But the drivers said they would rather warn others.

“I’m not interested in negotiating,” said Alegre.