Illegal Towing Kickbacks In Memphis, Tennessee (Give That Reporter An Emmy)

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The Fox-13 Problem Solvers are still kicking butt, this time with a report about (alleged) $25-per-vehicle kickbacks at a Memphis apartment complex...

The practice is contrary to a Tennessee state statute, 55.16.113, "kickbacks involving the towing of vehicles," and is a Class C misdemeanor. Due to the ever-widening circle of awareness caused by Fox-13's previous reports on the subject, a witness to the practice came forward and spilled the beans. I hope the next thing I hear about are indictments.

Apparently, the television station has received emails from all over the country because of this story. I'm included somewhere in that electronic pile. I have told Scott Madaus, the investigative reporter leading this media inquiry, that no matter how ugly the scandal might be, it is merely a local manifestation of a larger national trend of abusive towing practices. Any local television station or dead-tree based print media could do a similar story about local towing operators pushing the envelope, and produce the same groundswell of viewer/reader response.

And, geez, I hope they all do!

I will have to look up the Tennessee state statute in question and do my usual statutory analysis and critique. In the meantime, I sit back and watch, amazed, because Scott Madaus not only managed to rip the lid off this can of ugly worms, but he did it while nursing busted bones from a biking accident.

Towing Utopia Dot Com Says: Get Well Soon, Scott Madaus, Investigative Reporter

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Despite injuring himself in a bike accident and sporting a cast, Scott Madaus of the Fox 13 Problem Solvers in Memphis is still ripping a local towing scandal wide open.

According to a "teaser" which aired today, (and can be accessed over the internet) Madaus got a former security guard to come forward as a source. It appears kickbacks of $25 per car were helping to spur towing abuses at a Memphis apartment complex. See my two previous stories on this ugly situation, here and here.

But like I keep telling Scott in emails: it's not just a Memphis thing. Predatory, abusive towing is a national issue. I hope other television stations around the nation will be inspired to produce similar investigative reports on local abuses by the towing industry.

(Do not click "Read More")

"Going To Byhalia" And What The Trip Reveals

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So the deal is my blog doesn't just sit back and comment on news coverage. When I see relevant stories about predatory non-consent towing, like the recent story by Scott Madaus of WHBQ of Memphis, which I blogged about earlier, I try to contact the players to provide information about the larger national trend...

I did this with Orlando, Florida. I forwarded info to Commissioner Patty Sheehan consisting of a link to a report from Minneapolis about booting which seemed eerily relevant to Orlando's situation. All the time, I'm trying to stitch together the patchy local phenomenon into a bigger quilt of a revealing national trend.

Me. One little blogger guy. But I've seen it done before, even before the amazing world of blogging busted loose. All it takes is one person who gets hold of an issue and just won't let up.

Why did I pick THIS issue? Because I figured if I started a blog called Aramark Sucks Dot Com, I'd get whacked and besides...ever since I was a kid, I've been fascinated by tow trucks and my identity is all wrapped up in my wheels.

All over the country, there are colorful stories of abusive and predatory towing practices. Almost always, these are looked upon as LOCAL stories. Like, oh, my goodness, something awful is happening LOCALLY and it's a predatory practice, and here is what we're doing about it LOCALLY.

One problem. It's not local. It's national. Yet few see the issue as anything but local.

When Emmy Nominated Fox 13 investigative reporter Scott Madaus went to the tiny town of Byhalia, Mississippi, to track down vehicles being unlawfully snatched out of Memphis, Tennessee, and was roughed up by "Byhalia's finest," and given "no comment" by the mayor of that jerkwater town, and threatened by security at the apartment complex where vehicles were being (pretty much) ambushed...Madaus crossed a state line from Tennessee to Mississippi.

It probably didn't seem like a big deal, to cross that border. After all, people in that part of the country cross it constantly, usually giving it little thought. I'm sure Madaus thought he was on a LOCAL story, helping LOCAL people bullied by a snarling pack of bullies with tow trucks. The ugliness in Byhalia must have seemed very much like provincial, small town stupidity and therefore an intensely LOCAL phenomenon.

But what Madaus uncovered wasn't a LOCAL problem at all. The ugliness he saw in Byhalia isn't unique to Byhalia.

This investigative reporter sniffing out a LOCAL story actually unmasked the ugly face of a NATIONAL problem. The "Byhalia" story done by the Fox 13 Problem Solvers could be replicated by one local news station after another. Really, all you have to do is compare the local towing rules and regulations to what the towing operators are actually DOING.

I'll just say this much. The guy who did the story first should get the Emmy, even if some other news reporter does the story somewhere else and actually has to take a punch in the face for the greater good.

Predatory Towing Scandal In Memphis, Tennessee

The "Fox 13 Problem Solvers" in Memphis, Tennessee blew a predatory towing scandal wide open, exposing a shady outfit towing cars 30 miles to Byhalia, Mississippi (pictured above) without permits to operate in Memphis, much less charge $100 more than the law allows...

The towing company had a dubious arrangement with an apartment complex, it appears, and news coverage shows an intimidating security presence there as well as an outrageous surplus of parking spaces.

According to Fox 13, the company was towing cars 30 miles (45 minutes) from Memphis, Tennessee to Byhalia, Mississippi, a backwater community with 706 people (as of the 2000 census) with a median household income of $26,618. Its greatest claim to fame appears to be that novelist William Faulkner died there of a heart attack. One can't help but think of the desperate, down-and-out characters of Faulkner's greatest novel, "As I Lay Dying."

Naturally, Byhalia police intimidated and roughed up the news crew while the camera rolled. I wouldn't expect anything less.

The Byhalia-based company, BFT Towing, was charging $225, which is $100 more than the Memphis ordinance allows. They were not licensed to do business in Memphis and, furthermore, were using unmarked tow trucks in violation of another Memphis ordinance. To put the rancid cherry atop the reeking sundae, it turns out Memphis has yet another ordinance prohibiting vehicles from being towed outside of the city limits. That would include, you know, to a little town in a neighboring state.

Clearly.

Now the City of Memphis wants answers and is initiating an investigation. Memphis wants to hear from anybody who got towed in the City of Memphis--at any time, for any reason--by BFT Towing of Byhalia, Mississippi.

Tennessee Regulates Car Booting...Finally?

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I am not sure how critical I am allowed to be of Tennessee because...

I do not have facts and figures on how many states regulate "booting" at all. My sense is, however, Tennessee is pretty late in the game. Better late than never, though, unless it's money in a parking meter.

In that case, you're just out of luck.

Anyway, here is a link to the article, which is also reproduced below.
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Car "boot" rules win approval by state

Legislation will let cities regulate fees charged by private parking lots

NASHVILLE - Reports of motorists in Gatlinburg being charged up to $200 to free a "booted" car have led to passage of legislation that will let cities regulate the fees charged by private parking lot operators using the devices.

The bill passed the House 94-0 Monday night and now goes to Gov. Phil Bredesen for his expected signature. It had been unanimously approved by the Senate earlier.

The wheel immobilizers, or "boots," are affixed to vehicles to block them from being moved when the vehicle has been left in a parking lot too long, in an improper area or without a required payment. The vehicle remains immobilized until the motorist pays a fee.

Some private parking lot operators have developed a reputation of "being aggressive, egregious and really going after people hard" with the devices, said Rep. Joe McCord, R-Maryville, House sponsor of the measure.

There has been an "enormous amount of complaints" from motorists forced to pay huge fees to have boots taken off cars, he said, and the Gatlinburg City Council unanimously passed a resolution asking for passage of the bill.

Some cities use boots on cars that have been illegally parked or found to have a high number of parking violations. Cities typically charge $25 to $40 to remove a boot, but private businesses with parking lots have reportedly been charging $150 or even $200, backers of the measure said.

McCord said he had heard "not a single complaint" against enactment of the bill, while "a lot of people are very much in favor of it."

The only House floor debate on the measure came when Rep. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, questioned whether the measure would block the use of boots, which can be cheaper to a motorist than having a car towed.

McCord replied that this would not be the case, noting that governments already can regulate the towing industry. The bill merely puts boots in the same posture, he said.

As initially introduced, the bill would have applied only to Gatlinburg. But it was amended to apply statewide, giving all municipalities the right to establish maximum fees - if they wish - that may be charged by parking lot operators for unlocking the devices.
The bill was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Raymond Finney, R-Maryville.
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Towing Utopia says: Senator Raymond Finney hasn't gotten enough credit for this. I'm going to send Finney an email to see if I can solicit more information.

The Abusive Towing Fun Never Ends In Knoxville, Tennessee

All I can think is, good lord, don't visit Knoxville, Tennessee with a vehicle. This place makes even downtown Birmingham, Alabama look good by comparison...

The latest Knoxville horror story happened near the University of Tennessee, with a certain paid parking lot which has a habit of towing cars whether they pay or NOT. With nothing but a crude little slot in a metal box to stuff money (no receipts) people can't prove they paid, even if they did. The entire story is reproduced, below, but you can click here for a link to the original article.

The City Wrecker Commission says it doesn't know who to believe, yet this parking lot apparently generates more complaints than any other lot in the city. This was back in October of 2007, but I don't see any indications the problems were resolved.
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Wrecker panel hears two sides of story about garage towing cars

No decision, just a lot of confusion

By Hayes Hickman

October 26, 2007

Members of the city's Wrecker Services Commission weren't entirely convinced by anyone's story Thursday as they heard from alleged victims of a campus-area private parking lot that, according to one Knoxville police officer, spurs more complaints than any other in the city.

But they're willing to hear more before they decide who might be scamming who.

The board, which regulates local towing companies, took the complaints of two drivers who both contend they paid their $5 to park at the 1815 Lake Ave. lot near the University of Tennessee in August and still had their cars towed.

Local attorney T. Scott Jones, who owns the property, offered a witness' sworn affidavit challenging one alleged victim's account.

The commission members offered their own doubts about the accuracy of the affidavit, but they couldn't make heads or tails of the drivers' stories, either - the cash-only parking lot doesn't provide receipts.

"There's no proof that the money is paid or not," said Pete Claussen Jr., who had to pay an extra $90 to Jim's Garage to retrieve his Mercedes-Benz after it was towed from the site Aug. 17.

Claussen said he knew well to pay. He had another vehicle towed from the same lot once before when he shorted the pay box by $1.

Terri Godsey's story was similar. She said she made sure to pay the $5 fee on Aug. 24. Her husband, Billy Godsey, had one of his company trucks towed from the lot before, when one of his employees neglected to pay.

"My husband jokingly said, 'You better get your money in the right slot,' " she said.

Nevertheless, her vehicle - also a Mercedes - was towed as well before the couple had come back from lunch.

"You're going to get towed out of that lot whether you put your money in or not," Billy Godsey said.

In the Godseys' case, Jones furnished the written testimony of an employee at the nearby First Tennessee Bank. In the affidavit, dated two months after the incident, the bank teller wrote that from the bank's drive-through window she had seen a blond-haired woman park her Mercedes in the lot that day. Godsey is blond.

"Someone said something to her and pointed at the box. She shook her head and did not pay as she walked past," Sherry Fritts' account reads in part.

The commission members, however, were less than swayed.

"Most of the banks I go to at lunch have a line backed up out into the street," said member Mark Kolander. "I don't see how she could have seen anything."

Commission member Jean Teague added, "There are people who sign affidavits who don't see everything."

Knoxville Police Officer Don Huskey said that in response to numerous complaints, he and a team of other officers recently parked and paid for three unmarked vehicles there to monitor Jim's Garage, which is contracted by Jones to patrol the lot.

"They did tow some vehicles, but they didn't tow ours," Huskey said.
Thursday's was the wrecker commission's second monthly meeting at which complaints about the Lake Avenue lot have come up. But the members decided they would need to hear from others next month - Godsey said she has two witnesses who saw her pay - before they could draw any conclusions.

Huskey also stressed that the city's only interest is in the trustworthiness of Jim's Garage, which also answers calls for police service on a rotation list of city-contracted firms. If an angry motorist wants to pursue a case against the towing company, he'll likely have to file a lawsuit, he said.

"I can't make them give you your money back," Huskey said.