Alberta Motor Association provide towing rights to avoid predatory tower this winter

Driving in winter is dangerous — there are more accidents and vehicles often leave drivers stranded. Now the Alberta Motor Association (AMA) is warning of predator towers — those uninvited towers that take advantage of drivers and leave them with huge bills.

“For an increasing number of Albertans, it’s made even worse by unscrupulous tow operators who prey on drivers when they are at the most vulnerable,” explained Jeff Kasbrick, the advocacy and operation vice president of AMA.

Know Before the Tow — is the new campaign by the motor association providing five main towing rights drivers have when collisions or accidents happen.

• Right to refuse unsolicited towing services;
• Right to choose who tows your vehicle, and where, unless otherwise directed by police;
• Right to access your vehicle to retrieve personal items during a storage facility’s business hours;
• Right to ask if the towing company receives a kickback for taking your vehicle to a particular storage facility or repair shop;
• Right to a quote prior to service and itemized invoice prior to making payment.

“To have somebody out there taking advantage of those Albertans and those people that are in the time of need or in a vulnerable state like moments after the collision is just very unfortunate,” said Don Getchel, the president of towing and recovery with AMA.

While this campaign helps Albertans to be aware of predatory towers, one company CityNews spoke to says the government should have more regulations to combat this.

“These guys, there’s no license, anybody could come get a tow truck and get around the road tomorrow morning with no kind of proper coverage and start doing what they’re doing right now and ruin the market for everybody,” explained Bali Sadhu, the owner of Action Towing.

Action Towing says the predatory towers tend to have access to emergency service scanners, waiting for distress calls from drivers. And while their service including towing and storage can vary from $600 to $1,000 if it is a collision, the predatory ones charge the driver averaging $6,000.

“For working-class people, their car is their biggest investment after their house. Now they panicked and they took advantage of that panic situation because they could say they are your best friend and as soon as their car is on their hook, you’re nobody to them, they don’t care,” said Sidhu.

AMA says that if you are not sure or familiar with the towing company, a quick Google search and reviews can ensure the reputation of the tower, but if they put you in a high-pressure situation, a call to the police will help.

“Make the police aware of some of these unethical practices so that can be followed up,” said Kasbrick.