Colorado Tow Company Targeted by Attorney General

Wyatt’s Towing of Denver, Colorado is being investigated by the Attorney General’s office due to 950 complaints filed with the Public Utilities Commission over the past year.  

The investigation was allegedly opened shortly after state Senator Julie Gonzales was towed from a parking lot. The signage read “Overnight Guest Parking by Permit Only” and included a QR code to buy a parking permit from a company called ParkM, a parking lot permit manager. Gonzales said she figured she didn’t need a permit because she wasn’t parking overnight.  

Making matters worse, Gonzales was one of the chief architects of a new Colorado law cracking down on predatory towing. That law requires tow companies to accept partial payments. Upon picking up her car at Wyatt’s, she was not informed of the partial payment policy. Wyatt’s argued that signage was not mandated in the legislation and that it was up to the state to codify it into law.  

The attorney general’s office maintains that they did not open an investigation because of what happened to Gonzalez.  

“We’ve been working on this investigation for some time,” said attorney general Phil Weiser. “Our commitment is to be as comprehensive, thorough and fair in it as possible. Because of the senator’s public story, because now she’s actually a potential victim, we want it to be clear that this is something we are looking at.” 

Weiser said that over the past year or so, his office has received a number of different complaints that involved issues around towing. 

“The first issue is the signage. Is the notice sufficient so that someone would be aware that they could be towed?” Weiser said. “Second, how are they treated after their car is towed? Is there a sort of substantial fee that they’re forced to give right away? Are there other, in fact, predatory conditions that take advantage of their vulnerable state? ... Our commitment is to protect consumers and make sure no one is treated unfairly.” 

He said if the investigation finds wrongdoing, the attorney general’s office will work to get people their money back. 

“We also have the ability to have civil penalties when a company acts illegally to take advantage of people,” he said. “And finally, we want to make sure that whatever problematic, whatever illegal practices that may be going on, don’t happen again.” 

Jason Dunn, the former U.S. Attorney for Colorado who is now representing Wyatt’s, said the company has been cooperating with the Attorney General’s investigation fully and has provided all the AG’s investigators have asked for. Dunn said as far as he knows, the investigators have not found any evidence of wrongdoing. He said Wyatt’s has complied with the law fully. 

Dunn said Wyatt’s Towing has a sign out front alerting customers to the state law. He called Gonzales’ legislation confusing when it comes to how tow companies should eventually charge customers for their full balance. Dunn said the purpose of the state law was to help people with low incomes. 

“It appears that she took advantage of a program that may not have been intended for her,” Dunn said. 

Dunn sent photos of Gonzales’ car parked in the garage near signs indicating permit parking. The law requires tow companies to inform vehicle owners of improper parking 24 hours before towing the vehicle but allows more immediate action if a vehicle is parked in a permit parking zone. 

Dunn said Gonzales wrote the law, so she should know verbal confirmation of a payment agreement isn’t required. 

Gonzales said she’s planning new legislation to require it. 

“To me, that is committing the sin of lying by omission,” she said. “If we need to spell that out in statute, I’m happy to do that work.” 

In the end, Gonzales said the company called her the next day to inform her she would get a refund because of an “incorrect tow.” 

Dunn said the company chose to refund Gonzales as a courtesy because they had worked together in the past. 

Source: nbc11news.com