I do not know how many of you have heard, but the State of Illinois is discussing ways to correct the practice of overcharging for tows. Below is a TV report on the ways in which one company overcharges. There was also a company in the Lasalle area that overcharged for a police tow. It was a heavy-duty recovery that priced out as $221,000.00. Yep, that was two hundred twenty-one thousand dollars.
While there are more than two companies in the state that overcharge, the vast majority of towers are reasonable with their rates, pricing to make a living, but not hurt anyone. Note that neither of these companies are PTROI members. One of them, we even spent a bunch of money to keep out.
The problem is the state is probably going to slap all of us instead of the just bad actors. We are anticipating a huge problem in the next legislative session because of these greedy people.
Below is the TV report. Keep in mind that this aired at 9:30 PM and I had a phone call from a Senate Liaison by 11:00AM the next morning. They wanted to know what we were going to do about it. We need input from our membership to come up with up with ideas. We also need you to build excellent relationships with your local state senators and representatives. Lastly, we need to gain some serious membership numbers. Not to be a doomsayer, but if we all just sit on our hands and do not help get this under control in the legislature, the towing industry will either be price- regulated or licensed or both.
Overcharging Video
https://wgntv.com/video/2022-back-to-school-celebration-at-dupage-airport/7891255/