Iowa tow company charges $1K to release man's stolen motorcycle
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Alex Vergara's bike was stolen from the driveway of his Beaverdale home in April. It was missing many of its parts when he got it back a few weeks ago. Photo: Courtesy of Vergara
Alex Vergara's motorcycle reported stolen in April was recovered last month but he had to pay nearly $1,000 in cash to get a towing company to release it — only then to find that it had been stripped for parts.
Why it matters: Towing companies in Iowa have no legal requirement to check whether vehicles removed from private property are stolen, making Vergara an example of how Iowans can be left on the hook for additional expenses even after their property is located.
Details: Vergara received a certified letter from Crow Tow on Sept. 11 demanding he pay nearly $620 for the still-accruing daily storage fees, plus almost $170 for a "premium patrol/outside of town" tow.
- He paid the next day. His liability coverage insurance did not cover theft or the towing charges for the 1998 Honda sports bike.
The latest: The Des Moines Police Department requested three months ago that Crow Tow — the company it contracts with to provide towing services — provide a daily list of VIN numbers of the vehicles it collects on private properties.
- Those numbers are now checked against a national stolen vehicle database to try and avoid situations like Vergara's, Sgt. Paul Parizek tells Axios.
- The request was after officers were made aware of other stolen vehicle impounds, per Parizek.
The intrigue: Crow Tow is not legally required to grant DMPD's request but is doing so "out of good will," owner Randy Crow said in a statement to Axios.
Of note: Crow Tow does not allow owners to check on their vehicles before making payment and Vergara says the company declined to tell him what condition it was in.
- Vergara said he chose not to leave the bike unclaimed because Crow Tow's letter warned that he's legally responsible for the charges and that they may pursue legal options to collect them.
- Only cash is accepted for private property impounds, to combat fraudulent chargebacks on credit or debit cards, Crow says.
What they're saying: The company will not offer Vergara a refund because the services it provided were legitimate, per Crow.
- "With vehicle ownership comes responsibility. If the vehicle's owner chose not to secure full-coverage insurance for this vehicle, this situation and the financial obligation that resulted is exactly the kind of risk he chose to take up himself," he said in the statement to Axios.
The other side: Towing companies should be required to conduct stolen property checks and prohibited from charging excessive fees to victims of theft, Vergara says.
- "I got screwed when I got robbed. And then I got legally screwed by these guys who are playing the system."
Read more: Here's what happens to unclaimed vehicles in Iowa