When a Cleveland woman was in a car accident in April 2005, the tow truck showed up to the scene before the police’s preferred towing company.  The vehicle owner spent hours trying to locate her car and then was faced with a $582 bill to get the car out of the lot.  After much debate the towing company reduced the bill to $369, a rate the accident victim believed was still excessive for towing a car a couple miles and storing it for one day.  The victim filed a complaint with the Attorney General to voice concern for the ability of tow truck operators to tow vehicles without proper consent and impose outrageous towing rates.

An Oregon, Ohio man was involved in a car accident in January 2006, and his car was towed without anyone calling or asking for the tow.  The complaint states that the towing company did not take the car to the repair facility specified by the owner, and instead the tow truck operator took the vehicle to his garage where the vehicle owner incurred $170 in storage fees.  The man paid to have his wishes disobeyed.

In May 2005, a Toledo-area tow truck operator tried to tow a gentleman’s truck which resulted in more than $800 in damages to the truck. The vehicle owner filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s office to voice his frustration that tow truck operators cannot be held accountable.

In February 2005, a woman in Northeast Ohio was charged $1,506 by the towing company.  Outraged by the cost, the woman got an estimate from other tow companies and was quoted charges of between $100-200 for the same tow.  She filed a complaint with the state alleging that tow truck companies are free to charge excessive rates without any recourse for consumers.

A man in Medina, Ohio was driving and struck a deer in November 2005.  According to the complaint, the man specifically asked for AAA to provide the tow, however, a different tow truck arrived at the scene. The car was towed car against the vehicle owner’s wishes and he was charged $200.  The man’s AAA membership would have provided a free tow.  He filed a complaint alleging his tow was not authorized.