Dallas Is Filling Its Impound Lots With Seized Cars

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The City of Dallas made good on its threat to enforce an "uninsured motorist ordinance," and has reportedly been seizing cars on a massive scale, according to this article from Channel 11 in Dallas, click here.

In the first nine days of 2009, Dallas police...

...reportedly towed 256 cars. This does not include vehicles towed from accident sites, so that would be mostly seizures. Drivers who are pulled over simply lose their cars if they don't have insurance. They rack up a fine, towing charges, and $20 a day for impound fees.

There are certainly much better incentives to make drivers buy insurance, incentives which don't hurt people so badly in a tough economy. Dallas is driving down the wrong road, and if Dallas thinks there won't be political "push back" from all those upset drivers--poor and uninsured, though they may be--then Dallas is collectively out of its mind.

It is sad and frustrating to see some cities making sensible progress, click here for an example, but then to see such brutal, regressive practices spring up in a major city like Dallas. You have to wonder "WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?!" And why do citizens just knuckle under, like that, and swallow such abuses?

Directing Attention Toward Solutions, Not Just Gripes

My little saga with Towing Utopia began with the seizure of my van in Minneapolis during a snow emergency, click here, and my sense of violation and my certainty there is something fundamentally wrong with the system if vehicles are being seized because--good grief--SOMETIMES IT SNOWS IN MINNESOTA, SURPRISE, SURPRISE.

My goal in 2009, as I stated in this blog post, click here, is to figure out how to give this website a greater impact. Having my van seized AGAIN--this time because it was stolen and recovered--and having to make a trip to the impound lot AGAIN made me think, "What am I doing wrong? What am I doing right? How can I do better?"

Therefore, I have decided every one of my blog posts--EVERY ONE OF THEM--will have two things at the end.

1.) A link to a post suggesting regulatory steps cities commonly undertake to stop predatory towing practices. I have not yet written this blog post, but I will.

In the meantime, some fairly common regulations include: limits on how far vehicles can be towed, regulation of parking lot signage, and prohibitions on "cash only" policies. Anything cities can do to make their systems transparent--to make it possible for all concerned parties to track vehicles on the internet, and have a record of the facts and fees--is particularly good.

Archaic "cash and carbon paper" systems have to go the way of the do-do bird, or citizens will inevitably be abused.

2.) A link to Compiled Logic, click here, a company in Houston, Texas that helps cities solve their towing problems with high tech solutions. This company works closely with reputable towing companies, cities, police departments, etc.

They're businesspeople, not bloggers, so I hope they won't mind unsolicited free publicity.

In my experience, Ron Smith of Compiled Logic is a pretty great guy, super friendly as a good salesman should be. So I don't think he'll mind.

I'll do this because Compiled Logic has some high tech solutions for more transparent, less abusive towing systems. In 2009, I want anybody who stumbles on this blog (while investigating these predatory towing issues) to instantly have an answer to this question:

"Where can my city go to get some help with this problem besides writing about it on a blog?"

Proof Of Reincarnation In Dallas: Lone Star Towing Tries To Come Back Under Other Names

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According to an article in the Dallas Morning News, click here, officials in Dallas are trying hard to avoid another "vehicle-towing debacle" during Cotton Bowl festivities.

An entity called "Lone Star Towing" was...

...associated with a big PR black eye for the city of Dallas due to a previous incident. As discussed here on Towing Utopia, (click for blog post, and also click here) the company snatched vehicles under dubious excuses, and many locals suspect individuals who were associated with Lone Star created "towing traps" to lure the unwary.

Now the article in the Dallas Morning News discusses Lone Star using a tactic common in the predatory towing biz...though the article doesn't make mention of the bigger national pattern, or how common this tactic is. But the article does point out individuals associated with Lone Star--now apparently defunct due to its license being revoked--are trying to come back as "Champion Tows" and "Ideal Towing."

Some other information I picked up, hanging around the virtual gas stations of the internet, says both businesses are located at this address:

8035 East RL Thornton Boulevard, Dallas.

Good to know.

Meanwhile, public officials in Dallas are engaged in a classic case of locking the barn door after the horse has been stolen, closely watching to make sure predatory towing doesn't happen during the Cotton Bowl even while Lone Star reconstitutes itself under their very noses.

You can't get rid of "bad apples" in the towing business, at least not in the present historical period of poor regulation. Only systemic changes will make a difference, especially those changes which use technology to track what is happening with towing, and make the information available to all concerned in the "towing life cycle."

Click here for an article in which "towing life cycle" is used as a term. Love that term. It's so...holistic.

P.S. Am I the only one who notices that ugly Gap billboard ruining the Dallas skyline in the photo above?

No...no, it can't just be me.

Taken For A Ride At The Texas State Fair By Predatory Towing

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Amanda Miller was one of a number of people (allegedly) scammed by Lone Star Auto Services at the Texas State Fair, and she said so in an online forum. Amanda also said anybody who wanted the details about this now-infamous incident could contact her. So...

I sent Amanda an email, and soon enough she wrote her first person account and forwarded it.

Here it is.

WE DROVE FROM OKLAHOMA CITY TO DALLAS on Friday, October 10 for the OU/Texas game. We had a great time the night before. We hit the sports bars in the area, partied with people from "both sides of the fence," and attended the rally in the West End Marketplace. Best night I had in a long time.

The next morning we left our hotel at 8:30 thinking we had plenty of time to make it to the game, which had an 11 a.m. kickoff. The exit we needed to get off on was closed, so we had to drive an additional two miles. Once there, we were directed by police to parking areas; coming around a corner we were waived into a lot by five men in orange vests. We paid our $10 to park and headed to the game.

At around 8 p.m., we left the fairgrounds to head to our car and leave. We planned on hitting the bars that night to mingle with everybody else. After walking--on my bad foot, I might add, I had surgery on my left foot a week before the game--almost a mile to the lot we parked in, we were in for a rude surprise. The lot was completely empty, including our car, and there was now a "No Parking--Violators Will Be Towed By Lone Star Auto" with their phone number on it.

Panicking, I called the number and got a busy signal for about ten minutes....

(Editor's note: right here is where a website would have been handy, where individuals can just look up their cars online and not experience that whole minutes, hours, days of panic thing)

We had to hitch a ride with another parking attendant from another lot, since we didn't know where we were. They finally answered the phone, and promptly hung up on me.

Arriving at the lot, I immediately knew we were NOT in the wrong: there was a line of people all the way to the street, around 6 police cars, and a news van. I explained to the officer what happened (while crying!) who informed me I had the exact same story as all the others, and I needed to get in line.

After waiting 3-4 hours, I paid $200 (cash or debit only!) to get my vehicle out of impound. The woman behind the counter was rude and nasty, and we spent a good 30 minutes searching the lot for our vehicle because they couldn't tell us where it was.

The police stated they were there to keep the peace and couldn't file any reports because it was a domestic case. The newspapers the next day stated the police said people refused to file reports, so therefore nothing could be done--bull(expletive)!

Because so many people were scammed, this story made the headline news that Saturday night and the front page of the Dallas Morning News. I immediately went to work, calling anyone who would listen--newspapers, news casters, lawyers, City of Dallas.

The story a few days later said the company claimed they were not in the wrong, but other stories were dug up from the past about them. A news reporter from Channel 9 here in Oklahoma City went to my fiance's work for a story, and started contacting the company directly to get this taken care of.

I signed onto a class action lawsuit. The company called me--yes, called me!--and informed me that I was wasting my time, the towing company had nothing to do with this, etc.

I asked why, if they are the victims, too, weren't they even trying to cooperate with the attorneys, the city, etc? She hung up on me. Then, one day, the Texas Attorney General opened up an investigation on them--and we received a full refund in the mail. Well, it was actually $187--less than what I paid by $13, but I took that and shut up.

Would I go to the fair again? Yes, because up until that, I had a great time at the fair and at the game. Will I park there? NO! I will take the DART. Texas Towing is also still being investigated, the last I heard the Texas Department of License and Regulations was inspecting them for failure to cooperate.

Towing Utopia Dot Com says: Amanda, keep us informed of any new developments.

A "Barking Dog" Foreshadowed The Fall Of Lone Star Auto Services

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Long before the City of Dallas yanked their towing license, (which is being appealed on December 4) way before the Texas State Attorney General launched an investigation of their unseemly business practices, it was possible to see trouble was a-brewin' with Lone Star Auto Services...

Here is an example from RipOff Report Dot Com, click here, which detailed a dubious and expensive tow-jacking of an 18-wheeler from a truck stop.

On Yelp.com, a service rather like "Merchant Circle Dot Com," Lone Star racked up two negative reviews, click here. There was actually no review on Merchant Circle, so I took care of that PERSONALLY, click here. Lone Star racked up a "zero percent like it" on a "best of the web local" site. The only poster to add a comment (before I did, that is) urged anybody reading to simply Google the company to find out more about their various scandals.

But the "Barking Dogs" blog probably picked up the scent of Lone Star before anybody else, check out this "blogger investigation" of Lone Star apparently towing from a parking lot without authorization, click here. If anything was "the writing on the wall," it was probably that investigation by Barking Dogs.

There have been TWENTY-ONE ARTICLES about this situation, and I'm sure that number will increase as the investigation unfolds. But who had their teeth in it first? The bloggers. The blogosphere. THE BARKING DOGS OF THE BLOGOSPHERE, BABY.

Harsh Texas Style Justice For "Lone Star Auto Services"

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When Lone Star Auto Services had its Dallas license revoked earlier this month, 21 news articles hit the internet. Seldom has...

...a disgraced towing company gone down so hard and in such a public way. Here is a sample of the news coverage, from the Dallas Morning News, click here.

I blogged about this situation when it first came to my awareness, after the Texas State Fair towing incidents, click here. A pattern quickly arose of upset Texas citizens making complaints and comparing notes, which I blogged about here, click, and also here, click.

Now, according to the Dallas News--and plenty of others!--city officials say this misconduct was a pattern for years. The State Attorney General is looking into the situation, too.

Appeal Process Gives Lone Star Some "Slack"

If Lone Star files an appeal, the company will have up to 60 days to operate while the appeal process is completed. They can also just reincorporate under a new name and license, unfortunately, so there is discussion about "tightening the rules" in Dallas. Such a tightening wouldn't be hard to anticipate: if you have a towing license revoked in Dallas, you or a company in which you own interest can't get another license in Dallas. FOREVER.

Well, OK, I guess the law can't say "forever." So how about...ten years? OK, I'll compromise.

FIFTEEN.

Will Other Predatory Towers Reform?

Right now, the assistant director of City of Dallas Public Works And Transportation Department is saying the city isn't "targeting" anyone else, but what happened to Lone Star should be "taken as a message."

In my observation, such a "message" is useless. Not warnings, but only systemic changes root out abuse, and the best changes involve transparency: individuals being able to track towing in real time via the internet, and being able to access old data for investigation, if needed. This Lone Star situation could have never happened if the data about their (blatantly illegal) overcharges had been available online several years ago.

San Antonio Hides Its Dirty "Texas Towing" Laundry

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After a blistering exchange some months ago about about the deficiencies of "Texas Towing," which I blogged about here, San Antonio inexplicably renewed its contact with the firm and appeared reluctant to air its dirty laundry. Local media...

...like the reporter who wrote this article, click here, were mystified, and said so openly. Was any of the rancor sincere, or was it all a negotiating strategy? Or did the city government just back down in the face of a powerful monster they themselves have created, with plenty of money to pay lawyers and drag this matter out in court FOREVER?

I vote for the second one.

Following Threads Of Info, Blog-O-Sphere Gets The Dirt On "Lone Star Towing"

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A blogger who is part of something called "Barking Dogs" has very little sympathy for people who get towed, but despite that huge flaw in his character, this guy dug up an amazing amount of dirt about Lone Star Towing, and how the company appears to be slapping on illegal surcharges and putting this money right in their pockets...

Click here for a link to the blog posting, "Dallas-area towing service ripping people off, $43 at a time." The "Barking Dogs" blogger in question continues to solicit documents about Lone Star, in particular the dubious surcharges. Lone Star Towing is the same company involved in the suspicious incidents at the Cotton Bowl, which I blogged about here and also here.

Predatory Towing Justice--TEXAS STYLE!!!!

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Thanks to the media--and certainly no other reason--numerous auto owners who were towed during the Texas State Fair will get refunds. I blogged about it a few days ago, but there has been a positive development...

...discussed in this article, click here. In a nutshell: everybody is getting refunds and Lone Star Towing says it was all just a big, unfortunate mistake. Uh huh.

Mob Justice--Internet Style!

As short as this article was, it received a heated response in the online comments section. Here's my cherry-picking of the best comments.

Texasstarsun wrote: Dallas is known for scams like this. I lived a few miles from the Cottonbowl a few years ago.

Irving wrote: The towing company's "pigeon drop" backfired and it blew up in their face. They just didn't figure on it making front page news.

Shaun3342 wrote: (In regard to the towing company offering a $1,000 reward for arrest of the persons who set up the "parking scam") Start the investigation under your own roof. It's as comical as O.J. looking for "the real killers."

Hautedame wrote: This is not a new game for the towing companies. I had this happen once years ago in College Station while parked on the street in front of my own home. It was game day and some sorry towing company came through, put up their own flimsy little signs, and towed my car. We fought it but the police were no help. The hard reality was that the towing company held the car for ransom and we had to cough up cash to get it back.

Jane71 wrote: While I was living in Dallas, my care broke down on the side of the street two blocks from my house...so I walked home and called a towing company to take it to a garage. Lo and behold, the towing company I called out took my car to the city impound instead! The impound told me the towing company ignored my instructions because they could make $10 more taking it to the impound, as though it happens all the time!

I called the towing company to give them a piece of my mind. They said if they see a car parked on the side of the street, then they are within their legal right to take it to the impound, regardless of whether I called the towing company or not. For the towing company to make the extra $10, it cost me $200 in pound fees, plus another $50 to have the car towed from the pound to the garage.

Just The Fax wrote: I'm willing to bet my last dollar against a donut hole that Lone Star Towing has their fingers right in the middle of things. All the media pressure and accusations caused the wrecker company to act like they were innocent about the situation and will do the right thing by refunding the money.

Texas State Fair Creates Opportunity For Abusive Towing

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According to this article, city officials in Dallas are investigating allegations that citizens were overcharged after their cars were snatched from spots near the Texas State Fair, whose symbol is "Big Tex," above. The drivers thought...

...they were parking in legal spots, but got towed by Lone Star Auto Services whose representative, Anna Casey, says the company "did nothing wrong" even though, gee, they charged $200 and there are limits to what can be charged.

Hint, hint: It ain't $200.

"Cyber Activists" Rip Into Lone Star Auto Services

Some "cyber activists" have already submitted scathing reviews about Lone Star Auto Services on the internet, submitting some interesting details and allegations. And, I hasten to add, these are ALLEGATIONS. But according to Darryle Smitth (sic) it was Lone Star ITSELF which offered the paid parking lots to fair goers "near the Cotton Bowl." After the lots were full and people were gone to the fair, Lone Star posted "no parking signs," towed the cars, and charged $200 for folks to get the cars back.

Boycott Suggested Of Flying J In Dallas

Another poster, t3ucking (sic) said trucks were unfairly towed by Lone Star from the Flying J truck stop in Dallas, including a tow which cost $1253 for 14 miles. The poster urges the public not to patronize the Flying J truck stop in Dallas because the business is ultimately responsible for calling in predatory towing companies.

I will say this: the last time I was at a Flying J, while doing some commercial driving--and I do--I was treated badly. They told me I could cash one of my employer's checks, then changed their mind, which caused me to have to void the check when I was critically low on company checks as well as--oh, gee--diesel.

I may still patronize a Flying J in the future, if I must, but if I have a choice in the matter I will honor the spontaneous internet boycott and not choose Flying J, out of solidarity with the people (allegedly) victimized by Lone Star Auto Services.

San Marcos, Texas Aims For Reform Of Predatory Towing...Or Do They?

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Some months back, I blogged about the situation in San Marcos, Texas, where predatory towing was giving the town a "black mark" in the public eye...

I recently tried to follow up and see what San Marcos had done about its predatory towing. The answer: probably made it worse while supposedly making it better.

First of all, on September 5...after sitting on this issue through most of the summer, it appears...San Marcos "revised" the towing fees. Yeah, they "revised" the fees all right: UPWARD.

Current word, according to this article, is San Marcos will address the abusive towing practices at a "future meeting." Reform--such as NOT TOWING PEOPLE'S CARS ALL THE WAY TO AUSTIN, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD--seems pretty doubtful.

For now, it is probably advisable to avoid this city, which has such tourist destinations as the popular San Marcos Outlet Mall, pictured above.

"A Black Mark" On San Marcos, Texas

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Unfortunately, an article about Charles Cantu's bad experience visiting San Marcos, Texas is all too typical of the results of abusive and predatory towing. The instinctive response of many citizens is "I'll never shop in (here insert city) again in my life..."

But at least in San Marcos the local paper took note, and examined whether the local towing policy is a wee bit (how to phrase it?) draconian and oppressive.

According to the article by News Editor Anita Miller of the San Marcos Daily Record, Charles is a former student of the local Texas state campus and "bragged" about all the great stuff in San Marcos, which is why he brought his family and some out-of-state visitors. Spots the shoppers hit included Paper Bear, Sean Patrick's, and Sundance Records in Nelson Center.

Cantu parked his truck momentarily to retrieve some members of the group who had been tubing on the river. It only took moments for his truck to be snatched by Saucedo's Wrecker Service, which demanded $103.30.

Cantu was incensed, calling the newspaper and the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce. The police could only sympathize because what happened was "legal," although SMPD Commander Bill Glasgow says he has heard "the same story for 25 years."

Nelson Center is apparently quite aggressive in its towing. In this case, Cantu was towed even though some members of his party were shopping inside Nelson Center at the time. No "courtesy inquiry" was made at Nelson Center by the tow truck driver.

Cantu did not say, directly, that he would never shop in San Marcos again for the rest of his life, but noted he is "infuriated" and compared the situation to something you would find in New York.

An online comment posted to the article by "bobcat78" noted "the same thing happened to my family, parked at the lot besides Jay's Bistro. Supposedly, we should have been able to see two small signs on the wall that (limited) parking to residents only. Hard to read...in the dark. (The) attendant at the door saw us park and said nothing. To say the least the car was towed."

The commenter darkly noted, "I would assume the business probably gets a cut from Saucedo's Wrecker."

Unfortunately, this kind of smoldering fury is too often the response to people who experience predatory and abusive towing. They see it as an isolated local phenomenon, perhaps found commonly only in the most highly-developed metropolitan areas. (New York, Los Angeles, etc.)

However, as this very blog shows, that's not the case at all. Abusive and predatory towing is a national problem.

An Update On "Texas Towing" In San Antonio

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I wondered why the website for "Texas Towing" in San Antonio still described the company as the "Official Police Tow" for San Antonio...

In response to my inquiries, somebody in a position to know communicated the following information:
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Assuming the termination letter goes through (and that is a big assumption, as the firm has all but said it will sue to try stopping the termination from taking effect, the action would not begin (i.e., the firm removed as the city's tow operator) until the fall.

So I assume [Texas Towing] can continue to call themselves the city's "official" tow firm until then.
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I guess when Texas Towing says "official," what they actually mean is "officially designated until ousted by legal means."

Abusive Non-Consent Towing ROUNDUP For May, 2008 (Yee-Haw!)

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Hopefully, I can keep up with all the many incidents which happen on a month-by-month basis. The idea is...

If I can't blog about it in detail, I can at least throw in a short description and provide a link, to document the common patterns. There are SO MANY common patterns, one of which is the tendency of towing companies to hire some really rough people, like ex-convicts with auto theft convictions.

Oh, by the way...here is a nice link to information about "Rocky Mountain Oysters."

Just in case you wondered what those cowboys want with that little calf, pictured above.

Favoritism alleged in Carmi, Illinois

In Carmi, there is a situation where a tow truck driver is also a city alderman, and his daughter just happens to be a police dispatcher. Click here to read the article.

There are allegations of favoritism when it comes to the "roster," a tactic many cities use to determine which towing company is called to the scene of accidents and impounds.

A crowd was gathered for the city council meeting and at one point an alderman asked, "Do you believe police are picking a favorite?"

"Yes, we do!" the crowd said, in unison.

Citizens still out of luck in Fayetteville, Arkansas

The city government weeded through a bunch of applications and picked one towing company to use for police-initiated towing. City fathers sounded a cautionary note, as reported by the local press in this article, saying...

"Fayetteville Police Department cannot control tows occurring on private property such as Dickson Street businesses, University of Arkansas parking lots, apartment complexes, residences, etc. This is where a large majority of citizen complaints originate, and once again, we want the public to understand this towing contract will not and cannot resolve those issues. Those type of complaints should be made to the Arkansas Towing and Recovery Board."

A long, ugly history in San Antonio, Texas

Texas Towing is being dropped early from its 7 year contract with San Antonio, due to "longstanding failure to meet performance standards" according to this article.

The article is quite valuable because of its links in a "sidebar" to the whole ugly history of the dispute. This messy controversy is the subject of a separate blog entry. I was married in San Antonio, Texas, and even thought that didn't work out so well I still love that place, and I care what goes on "deep in the heart of Texas."

Gouging students in Georgia (A matter of record)

Statesboro, Georgia voted to raise the fee for non-consent towing a little bit in light of rising gas prices. In the course of discussion, a lot came out in front of a reporter about how the previous price was a response to local towing companies "gouging" students.

Tow trucks charge "whatever" in Escambia County, Florida

Only when a citizen was outraged over a $500 towing charge did Escambia County, Florida, start to take a look at the fact towing companies were free to seize cars and charge whatever they liked, according to this article.

Escambia County isn't some kind of backwater. This county includes the city of Pensacola. You have to wonder how many places in this country have no regulation at all, and citizens are getting gouged until somebody talks to their city council or county commission.

Oops, just a MISTAKE in Fort Worth

A woman shopping found her car being towed, and asked how much to release the car. The driver said he had to take the car. Turns out this is contrary to a Fort Worth ordinance. If the driver shows up, the towing company must DROP THE CAR WITH NO FEE.

The company, Excalibur Towing, is refunding the woman's money, according to this article.

But I wonder how many other "mistakes" were made like this?

A commenter to the article named Andrea McLaughlin of Dallas, Texas says she has also had problems with Excalibur Towing.

But no mistake in Dallas

Meanwhile, Dallas has decided to authorize towing vehicles discovered to lack auto insurance, according to this article.

Towing predators snarling at each other in Florida

In Martin County, Florida, tow trucks are coming from neighboring Palm Beach County and St. Lucie County to seize illegal cars, according to this article. But Martin County towers can't go into St. Lucie because of an ordinance.

The towers are crying foul, according to this article, and wanting an ordinance to "protect" them from the other towers. What about protecting the rest of us from them?

The Ugly History of "Texas Towing" In San Antonio

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Like brave Texas citizens who were cornered at The Alamo, pictured above, citizens were corralled and mistreated by an inappropriately-named outfit called "Texas Towing" which had a "longstanding failure to meet performance standards" according to San Antonio's Chief of Police...

Bean counters spill the beans

It's seldom when auditors get the kind of recognition and glory they deserve for blowing the whistle on wrongdoing, but that's exactly what happened here according to this article in at www.mysanantonio.com.

A refusal to turn over documents

Things grew worse as Texas Towing refused to provide information about its operations in response to requests by the city, according to this article.

Outrage piled on outrage

After dragging their feet in turning over information, Texas Towing announced the city of San Antonio owed the company more than $100,000...without explaining why. Hard to believe, but it's all in this article.

The controversy drags on
San Antonio appeared to be merely "lining up its ducks" as matters dragged on, making sure it was holding up its end of the contract while trying to have discussions with Texas Towing. That's what I take from this article.

Letters tell the tale

The local media did a great job obtaining and publishing behind-the-scenes documents about the ongoing controversy. Here is a letter from Texas Towing to the local media, Page One. Here is Page Two.

The Chief of Police made the public record in detail in a three-page "Notice of Default" sent to Texas Towing. Page 1, 2,3.

Disturbing conduct by Texas Towing

The next news article relies heavily on the info in the "Notice of Default," but conscientious reporters did some digging, too. Some of the outrageous shenanigans of Texas Towing included (but certainly were not limited) to the following:

* Too few drivers. Drivers showed up late, keeping police tied up at accident scenes. (I merely presume some accident victims were also inconvenienced by this?) Specifically, drivers were late 2,371 times in a seven-month period.

* Tow truck drivers tampered with arrival and departure times on their paperwork.

* In a pattern which is all-too-common in some sectors of the towing industry, drivers were permitted to work with "revoked licenses, and with records revealing arrests for drug possession, and outstanding warrants."

* Texas Towing allegedly threatened a staff member of the police chief with loss of his job if he kept reporting contract violations.

*Texas Towing failed to submit required auditor reports for, like, um...years.

Where was the pressure coming from?

Some suspected the push to get rid of Texas Towing was due to competing businesses who wanted to get control of the lucrative contract. In the middle of this dispute, Texas Towing was dealt another blow when a competitor gained control of the city's impound lot, according to this article.

Auditor who started the controversy loses his job

Right when things seemed the most bleak for Texas Towing, the auditor who started the controversy lost his job and there was a dust-up over the contents of his original draft report, as discussed in this article.

What a great controversy. Makes me wish for some popcorn!

Controversy "blunted" by new report

It turned out the City of San Antonio had overpaid Texas Towing by a mere $21,000 according to a different auditor's report. The Texas Towing controversy became all tangled up in issues of whether the auditor was a "loose cannon" who had overstepped his authority, but the push to dump Texas Towing was inexorable whether the auditor had been a "loose cannon" or not, according to this article.

Police Chief unhitches Texas Towing

As of a couple days ago, according to this article the word was Texas Towing was "out on the street," and if there was going to be a lawsuit, so be it.

That is where things stand as of today.

Wow! And who speaks for the citizens at accident scenes who have dealt with this unsatisfactory company for years? In all this controversy, there is very little talk of what any citizens experienced in (for example) dealing with drivers who had outstanding warrants.

The final irony

Oh, one final little note of irony or is it just "virtual" irony, since it's on the internet?

As of today, May 31, 2008, the Texas Towing website still lists the company as "San Antonio's Official Police Tow."