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State's Attorney Alvarez Takes Action Against Rogue Tow Truck Operators

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced today that she has filed suit against four Chicago-area towing companies whose drivers have been preying on unsuspecting motorists by towing their vehicles after an accident and then charging exorbitant fees to return the vehicles to the owner.

Companies named in the suit are Road America Automotive, Inc, City Wide Auto, Inc, Pro Auto, Inc, and Showtime Towing, Inc. Also named are the owners of these companies, Azzam Al-Hindi, Tareq Al-Hindi, Saher Ashkar, and Adel Suhail as well as several of their agents.  The companies are based in Chicago and Blue Island.

“These companies prey on vulnerable motorists who have just been involved in an accident,” Alvarez said.  “This affects not just the individual motorist who is victimized and forced to pay excessive costs to recover their car, but it also drives up the insurance rates that all motorists end up paying.”

The suit alleges that the companies would monitor police scanners and dispatch tow trucks to approach motorists who had just been in car accidents. They would then obtain consent to tow the vehicles by telling the victims that their tow would be completely covered by their insurance companies.  In some cases the tow truck drivers would tell motorists that they would repair their vehicles at their facilities, or misrepresent themselves by saying that they “work with” or are affiliated with the police. 

In some cases the tow truck drivers would tell the unsuspecting motorist that they would tow their car for a reasonable rate such as $125 for the tow and $40 a day for storage.  But once the defendants had possession of the vehicles they would refuse to release them unless excessive fees, often ranging from $1,995 to $6,500, were paid. The suit also alleges that the companies would pad their bills by charging victims for services that were never performed and for the use of equipment that was not needed.

As a result of these business practices many consumers were deprived of their vehicles for lengthy periods of time and some were even forced to obtain loans to stop the accrual of the defendant’s excessive storage fees.

The lawsuit seeks to ban the defendants from continuing to defraud consumers and to cancel all towing contracts that are found to be fraudulent. The suit also asks for $500,000 in civil penalties.

Alvarez encourages any consumers who have fallen victim to these or any other towing companies that used similar practices to call the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Consumer Fraud Hotline at (312) 603-8700.