Questionable business practices by towing operators are prompting new regulations in Independence

Aurora Paolicchi gathered with friends at River Market for brunch in mid-March, unaware that the group’s gathering coincided with the Kansas City Current’s season opener at the team’s nearby new CPKC stadium. As a result, parking was too expensive – $25 – but she paid and had a nice time with her friends.

When she returned to the parking lot where she had parked, her vehicle was gone. Other vehicles were also towed.

After investigating, the Shawnee resident determined that her vehicle had been taken to the yard of Autobot Towing, a towing company located in Independence.

Over the phone, a remote company representative told her it was after business hours. They wrote down her number. Maybe someone will call her back?

She and her friend drove to the scene of the traffic stop and were able to recover the vehicle after what she described as a frustrating exchange. She wondered why she had to pay a storage fee? She added that the vehicle was in the parking lot for less than an hour. She tried to argue, but in the end she just wanted to get her vehicle back and end this ordeal. She paid and moved on.

Even later, it was unclear to her why her vehicle had been towed. She finally paid for parking.

“It ended up being $350 and the car was there for less than an hour,” she said.

Two days after the “misadventure,” as Paolicchi put it, Independence City Council members signed new rules to more tightly regulate the towing industry, setting new requirements for how Independence towing companies operate.

“Same equal opportunities”

The changes were made after The Star reported last year on the situation with Autobot and Independence city codes for towing service operators, which Independence City Council member Brice Stewart read, prompting an effort to update the codes governing such companies.

In March, council members approved code changes modeled after the rules applicable to towing operators in Kansas City.

The changes include requirements for towing companies to clearly mark vehicles with the company’s name and telephone number, accept payments by cash, card or any mobile payment service, and store towed vehicles at a facility where owners can pick them up 24 hours a day. hours a day, seven days a week. The codes also require companies to provide written, itemized receipts, maintain a detailed towing log that can be reviewed by the city or vehicle owner, and follow other basic business practices.

When council members approved the changes in March, City Manager Zach Walker told them the city would “put in place some consumer protections and simply help tow companies operate on the same level playing field.”

Walker said the city will then contact local towing companies about changes to city regulations.

Stewart said he pushed for this effort after reading The Star’s story last year and because of a personal experience he had with a towing company many years ago.

Stewart said his vehicle slid off the icy road and a passing tow truck stopped, pulled him out and allowed him to continue driving, but not before he was told he owed $400 in cash for about 30 minutes of work. He went to a nearby bank and obtained cash to pay for the service. He can chuckle about the episode now, but he said he always felt a little burned by the incident.

“I had money back then, but what if I didn’t have it?” he said. “There are a lot of people who can’t get $400 in cash, especially in the middle of the night. And if they don’t have friends or family to lend it to them, their car could end up sitting in the parking lot for days and racking up even more fees. I think it’s just the wrong way down.”