I spoke to the General Manager Michelle Martin regarding of $230 per day for a tow of my wife's vehicle, as she had parked in the wrong Italian Restaurant's parking space, Leucadia Pizza Point Loma, along with other charges it came to $400 despite being with them for less than an hour!
It would appear from the published schedule of San Diego towing fees, they are charging over the allowed maximum towing rate by San Diego Police Department, and above the maximum allowed storage fee.
Google San Diego maximum Towing Fees, for example -
e.g. - https://autoreturn.com/wp-content/uploads /2020/12/SD-CA_Notice_Towing_and_Storage_Fees.pdf
Reviews on Google suggest this is not an isolated incident, but indeed a common complaint levied against the company.
Michelle acknowledged the company has poor reviews and reputation but claimed that the applicable law is The Vehicle Code CVC 22658 and they hold a special TSA agreement with the California Highway Patrol. According to her those are the rates they charge for the jurisdiction in which the car was towed from.
In essence, she claims that these rates are higher than the ones we found to be the maximum online and perfectly lawful.
Sounds plausible I suppose, and I understand they have a job to do, yet when I asked for a copy of this TSA, she said it was confidential. I offered to sign a NDA or stated that just a copy of the charges Michelle claims exists, would suffice, and I did not need to see the rest of the TSA.
I told them this transparency would do wonders for their online reputation and promised to post a favorable review if the charges were true.
They have ignored 3 follow up mails and are no longer communicating with me.
Western Towing and Michelle, you deserve your bad reputation. If you stopped trying to hide your fees, and provided them when you were asked, perhaps you'd save yourself a lot of issues, bad reviews, and legal challenges,.
It's easy, prove your authority to charge what you do. Failure to do so just makes you look suspicious. If you are charging what you are legally allowed to why rub salt in the wound, and put people through even more stress?
Under the CVC 22658, the police, City or State Attorney can request a copy of the TSA. This will be our next move. We have reported them to the BBB.
Anyone having issues with this company I will be happy to help, please contact me! read more