KFOR, Oklahoma City A citizen of Oklahoma City was shocked to receive a towing fee that, at about $1,000 for a tow, he felt was far more than he had anticipated. After the towing firm refused to release his car until he paid up, this is what transpired.
Lawrence Wisen was trying to get some extra money on a snowy Monday of last month when the incident happened. He stated to News 4, “I was out doing DoorDash because during snowstorms, they pay really well.”
Unluckily, he was trying to pull a snow-covered vehicle near Yukon when his car got stuck, inflicting damage to it while he tried to get home.
When the cops showed up, the towing bill was handed over.
According to Wisen, he is legally permitted to charge for each and every task as a tow truck driver. But Jay B, an unidentified driver for Edmond-based All City Wrecker, arrived and seized his vehicle.
When the snow thawed, Wisen claims Jay B first volunteered to drive him home so he could get his car back. “I could maybe leave you on the side of the road for $150 or something,” he remarked, according to Wisen’s memory. He promised not to bill me $20 for storage.”
When Wisen went to pick up his automobile at the end of the week, he was shocked to see a cost of $796.29.
“So now, he’s putting up all these charges that are laughable,” Wisen explained.
A $112 hook-up fee and several other expenses, including a $250 administrative fee, were included in the bill.
Hours later, even after he paid a $45 release fee, his car is still not freed.
“So, I asked him, can I obtain evidence that you paid this fee, that you actually paid for the impound?” stated Wisen. “‘Oh, no, I didn’t get that,’ he said. I don’t have to prove that to you.”
The Corporation Commission’s regulations list a number of additional unspecified costs that a towing business may impose when impounding a car, but none of them address the unspecified administrative costs that Wisen was purportedly charged by All City Wrecker.
On Friday, News 4 visited All City’s impound lot to speak with Jay B.
“Finding out is not that difficult. I don’t understand your being here,” Jay B said to News 4. “I promised the child I wouldn’t impound it and that I would keep it for him. I would maintain it on my terms. It would be $250 right now.”
According to him, Wisen arrived to pick up the automobile on Wednesday at 5 p.m. Wisen contests this, claiming that later that week he proceeded and paid the expenses.
How much Jay B was billing Wisen before Friday was a question News 4 posed.
“The charges as of right now are $638,” he answered.
But according to the bill that Wisen gave News 4 access to, All City Wrecker requested $796.29 by January 22.
Wisen asserted that Jay B never told him about the precise prices, such as after-hours fees, when he was questioned about them.
“We keep it from them. ‘This office is open from 8 to 4, and you can figure it out yourself,'” Jay B explained. “But we can’t count on everyone to count, so I can’t help the world.”
On the website of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, it is stated that a towing company’s hookup fee for impounding a car of that size cannot exceed $81.25. Furthermore, between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m., they are not allowed to charge more than $15 per hour for vehicle release.
The website also notes, “When billing occurs, authorization for time incurred for leaving the vehicle must be noted on the tow operator’s face.”
The bill, which Wisen presented to News 4, made no mention of authorization.
J.B. asserts that he has the right by law and defends all he has been accused of by Wisen.
“So even if we didn’t do anything, we can still be accused because the law says so,” he explained.
