"Renegade towing companies"

Friday update: I made a few calls yesterday, and no one wants to talk about this. Or, as one person put it, "Everyone’s acting like Sgt. Schultz." Which, for the younger members of the group, means they're saying, "I know nothing." I'll keep poking around, but since no one wants to talk about this, my guess is there is a good reason: The towing companies are very well connected.

Thursday post: Note to Mayor Park Cities and the rest of the city council: Lone Star Auto, which made headlines last week when it towed cars belonging to Texas-OU fans, has been doing this sort of thing for a long time. In fact, it has even been on TV before.

Lone Star’s “renegade-ness” is not news. City Hall has been trying -– and failing -– to make the company behave for almost two years. You can go here. Or here. Or even here. So, Mayor Leppert, if you’re going to make this one stick, you’ll have to do more than play to the cameras.

Because, you know what this Lone Star business is? A typical example of how the city can’t regulate businesses that it’s supposed to regulate.

Technorati Tags: towing companies,Lone Star Auto,Tom Leppert

Comments

[Quentin Mendoza]

Jeff--

I'm assuming that Lone Star has a contract with the city to provide its 'services'. Is there a specific law or code outlining what powers the city has over these vendors? Is there any provision for terminating a contract with a vendor when it violates its contract? Does this sort of activity represent a breach of contract in terms of how the contract and/or law is worded?

Cheers!

[Jeff Siegel]

Actually, the city may not have any regulatory authority other than setting towing company rates. It's all very vague, which is one reason why Lone Star and other companies get away with what they get away with. I'll try to make a few calls and see if I can figure out what's what.

[Robert]

I sent a litter to Angela Hunt requesting complaining about this company and asking that she (my councilwoman) take this matter up.

I haven't heard back.

The city may not have regulatory authority but it can pressure the company in many, many other ways, starting with getting code compliance to look at their operation.

And the DMNs and local TV stations should do a better job of telling us who the owners are, where they live, do a "Bill O'Reilly" interview at their home, who owns the lot, etc.

[JKR]

Angela is in Europe for a month on a fellowship.

What really bothers me is all the people on the comments section of the dallasnews site saying they will never return to Fair Park, launching into a diatribe against Dallas and then saying how glad they are that they live in Frisco.

People seem to do that with DISD and Dallas City Council issues as well.

I think there is something else behind their indignant rage.

[OBM]

As posted on our neighborhood blog:

Lone Star Towing located on Beeman Avenue is notorious for breaking not only city towing ordinances, but driving laws as well. It is often — if not many times in any given day — that their drivers are flying up and down the small, residential Beeman Avenue at speeds in excess of 50 mph (over 20 mph over the legal limit), but they also run nearly every stop sign at every corner. Further, I have watched their large trucks run red lights at Winsow and I-30 quite often. Their illegal driving activities don't stop there. I have also witnessed them bullying other drivers by blowing horns and running cars off of the street to get by them.

Personally, I have been a victim of their bullying on more than one occassion. In one case, I was driving 10 miles over the speed limit when one of their trucks flew up the street doing what seemed to be over 60 mph (again in a 35 mph zone). The truck rode my bumper till he could swerve into oncoming traffic to pass me. He got in front of me and slammed on his brakes. Thankfully I swerved. Otherwise, not only would I have hit his truck, but this driver would have also probably insisted on towing me!

Lone Star Towing is a criminal element that we do not need in our neighborhood. I wouldn't be surprised if they have actually caused traffic accidents as they attempt to service traffic accidents. But the frightening thought is how close they come daily to killing our neighborhood's children that line Beeman Avenue.

I praise our Mayor for announcing at the city council meeting last evening that he will have the City Manager fully investigate this and other renegade towing companies in Dallas. I just hope they truly do that ... especially in light of the fact that the Dallas Police seem to overlook Lone Star's illegal driving and other offenses.

[Robert]

I see the State Attorney General is making statements about getting involved.

That is the kind of action that is need. Especially if it results in putting these people out of buisness forever., i.e. not letting them re-open under another assumed name.

[Scott Ed]

If the city is not going to regulate the towing companies, then they should regulate parking lot operators -- even the temporary ones that pop up for the State Fair -- and provide a simple means of redress allowing people whose cars have been towed to challenge the towing company's actions.

Frankly, there are parts of town -- the area around Fair Park is one, Lower Greenville is another -- that are notorious tow traps. It would be right to be leery of these places. However, letting towing companies run rampant generates badwill, and the city needs to act.

As a side note, I recall an investigative report a couple years back about Dallas tow companies. A woman took here case to court claiming that the tow company was not legally licensed. The tow company owner showed up, presented a document to the judge, and the case ended there. Turned out that the document was a license to warehouse vehicles, which is not the same as a license to tow. So the woman was right: the tow company was not licensed. Unfortunately, the judge didn't know that he was being shown incorrect documentation.

[Desert Rat]

Does anybody know whether other TX cities have these same problems w/towing companies? If not, how are they able to regulate the towing companies & Dallas isn't? If they do, then the problem lies in Austin not here & would indicate a very strong/effective lobby.

[Michael Davis]

Dallas pulls license of towing company tied to complaints at Fair Park

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/110508dnmettowing.17d3900bc.html