Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/13/1360.asp

9/27/2006

Washington: Towing Company Cashes in on Stolen Car
A towing company is billing the victim of car theft more than the value of his car.

Monroe, Washington motorist Ansel Carroll had his 1988 Honda Civic stolen in August, but through no fault of his own he may end up losing both his car and more than $1000 to a towing company. When Carroll had reported his car stolen, he left police numbers where he could be reached. Police found the car within a week, but they never called.

Monroe Police outsource stolen car notifications to a company called SnoPac, which only called an out-of-date number for Carroll, ignoring the valid numbers that had been provided. Sky Valley Towing held the car for weeks before sending a notification letter, allowing the "storage fees" to mount. They now have now run up to $1500, far exceeding the expected return when the car is auctioned on Saturday.

"What kind of system is this?" Carroll asked KOMO-TV News. "I'm the one that got the car stolen, not the towing company, which is getting all the money."

Source: Car Theft Victim Stuck With $1,500 Bill (KOMO-TV (WA), 9/26/2006)

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