Alexandria, Virginia Sheds Light On Problems In The Towing Industry

Flickr.com photo

So the newspaper in Alexandria, Virginia printed my letter to the editor, and then followed up with an article about the whopping 26 percent increase to towing fees in that city...

The article was informative, but naturally I found myself talking back to the facts and wishing I could write yet ANOTHER letter to the editor to say this:

Fred Schler of Henry's Wrecker service says he uses the internet to "dispatch in real time" and he says "as long as I have a computer I can find out where any of my cars are."

Huh? Whose cars are they? I think Fred Schler must have been one of those little children who confuses the concept of "my toys" with the concept of "other kids' toys I want to play with."

I doubt very much if citizens in Alexandria, Virginia can find out where their towed cars are "as long as [they] have a computer."

And that's really the crux of the problem, isn't it? Fees go up a whopping 26 percent, and citizens are still going to (as the towing industry expert quoted in the article said) "wake up on Sunday morning" to wonder if their car has been stolen, and how long is it going to take them to find out?