‘Just wrong,’ fumes mom hit with $450 fee after car was towed – she found a way out of the fine but ended up in court | 6503BIK | 2024-05-02 12:08:01
'Just wrong,' fumes mom hit with $450 fee after car was towed – she found a way out of the fine but ended up in court | 6503BIK | 2024-05-02 12:08:01
FOLLOWING her daughter's involvement in a car accident, a mother appeared in court to dispute the fees charged by a towing company for the wreckage.
The mother was one of several parents who complained about a towing company with a city contract in Taylor, Michigan – located 20 minutes southwest of Detroit.
"This is time; it's stress," Michele Plummer, a mother whose daughter was involved in an accident, told Detroit-based NBC affiliate WDIV.
"We work hard for our money."
Plummer said her daughter was left with a possible concussion after the accident.
Area Towing, a company with a city contract, towed the car from the scene.
The contract grants the company exclusive rights when police need a vehicle towed from public streets, according to the station.
But drivers said the fees assigned by the company are too high.
Plummer claimed she was initially quoted $285 to tow the vehicle back to the family's private home.
But she said the car didn't show up at home.
"I then contacted Area Towing to find out, 'Where is the car?'" Plummer told the station.
"They then said that it was at their impound yard."
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> The new rate was $450, she claimed.
"I'm down at the impound yard arguing to get her car when I should have been home with my child, that could have had a concussion," Plummer said.
"That's just wrong."
Shane Anders, the owner of the towing company, said that the prices compensate for dozens of drivers who fail to pay their fines and don't have car insurance.
"We're not a tow company," Anders told the station.
"We're a police impound facility."
<p class="article__content--intro"> Wrongfully or not, retrieving a towed vehicle can be a hassle. </p> </div> </div> Anders admitted the charges were high, but the company was forced to raise them after other drivers failed to pay.
Plummer's credit card company also refused to pay the fees associated with her daughter's towing.
The charging squabble is not the centerpiece of a court battle between the towing owner and the mother.
"I enjoy being tested, and that's the fairest place you can be tested," Anders said about going to court.
"I believe in the system. I don't always agree with the system. But 99% of the time, it's agreed with us."
Area Towing didn't immediately respond to The U.S. Sun's request for comment.
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