Drivers say their cars were towed unlawfully and the state agreed, requesting the tow companies to refund driver costs. So, why do drivers still have to pay to get their vehicles back? Lisa Parker digs into the issue.
For Chicagoans who know the rules and laws of parking in the city, the hope is that if mistakes are made or their cars are taken unlawfully by private tow companies, Illinois state regulators will have their back.
Drivers still have to pay a $218 fee to get their vehicle back from the tow yard, but if the tow is ruled as illegal, regulators with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) can force the tow company behind the tow to refund the driver the money they paid.
But in order for regulators to force a company to refund a driver, the violations must be proven before a judge in an Administrative Law hearing, the ICC tells NBC 5. And NBC 5 Responds found there’s a way that tow companies can bypass that process.
If companies choose to pay a fine directly to the state, no Administrative Law hearing will be held and therefore, no refund can be forced, even if the ICC’s investigators found the vehicle tow violated state law.
It’s a frustrating realization for drivers caught in the process, like Jermall Harvey.
Harvey worries he may not receive a refund after his recent towing experience, one that had him fearing for his life last October.
“I was like, ‘You can’t tow my car!’” Harvey recalls telling the tow truck operators back on Oct. 12 in Wicker Park. “‘You’re towing my car illegally!’”
Harvey was parked in the lot below his office at Ashland and Division when he said his coworker told him a Lincoln Towing truck was pulling up to his car.
Surveillance video obtained by ICC Police shows Harvey running to the tow truck before his car was hooked up. By law, Lincoln Towing should have dropped his car, the ICC found, but instead, the video shows the tow truck driver hit the gas and drove off.
A passenger in the tow truck even pointed a gun at Harvey during the whole ordeal, according to Chicago Police. Officers were called, and the tow truck passenger told police he had a concealed carry permit and feared for his life, when he pulled his firearm.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
The passenger was arrested for misdemeanor aggravated assault, and he plans to contest the charge at trial later this year, according to the Cook County Public Defender’s office.
You can watch the full story of what happened to Harvey in the video below.
Despite all of that, Harvey still had to pay the $218 fee to get his car back. He thought state regulators would find the law was on his side and force Lincoln Towing to issue him a refund, so he filed a formal complaint with the ICC.
“We can get this handled through the law,” Harvey said. “That's why we have the laws and the police force to enforce these laws.”
In this case, that police force is the ICC, the state agency that regulates the towing industry in Illinois.
Their investigation of Harvey's complaint concluded Lincoln Towing had violated several laws during the towing of Harvey’s car, including “relocating a vehicle when the driver is present.”
If found guilty, Lincoln Towing would have to pay $1,500 in state fines and refund Harvey the money he paid to get his car back, $218.
Lincoln Towing did not respond to NBC 5’s request for comment about Harvey’s experience, or the ICC’s violations.
A copy of the violation issued to Lincoln towing, and reviewed by NBC 5, includes a “requested refund” of Harvey's $218.
An Administrative Law hearing where a judge will decide whether the Lincoln Towing violations stand is scheduled for February.
While Harvey waits to learn the fate of his refund, he fears it may not be enforced; similar to another towing investigation NBC 5 Responds covered last year, involving a separate towing company.
That case revolved around driver Geanna Boykin, who contacted NBC 5 after she said her car was towed from a lot in Hyde Park, while she was inside an authorized business there.
“I came out an hour and 15 minutes later, [and] I thought my car was stolen,” Boykin told us.
While Boykin was getting her taxes prepared, her car was feet away and towed by a company called Rokaitis Towing.
You can watch the full story about Boykin’s tow in the video below.
Boykin also had to pay the $218 fee to get her car back, and after NBC 5 Responds revealed proof that she should not have been towed, the ICC sided with Boykin, and issued Rokaitis Towing a violation.
Rokaitis Towing did not respond to NBC 5’s request for comment on the ICC’s investigation.
The violation – issued by the ICC, and reviewed by NBC 5 – also included a “requested refund” of Boykin’s $218.
But Rokaitis was able to bypass having that refund mandated, simply by paying a $100 fine, which canceled the Administrative Law hearing where the violations would be heard by a judge.
A spokesperson for the ICC explained to NBC 5 that in order for state regulators to require a towing company to issue a refund, the violations must be proven at an Administrative Law hearing.
If towing companies choose to pay the fine instead, no hearing will be held, and therefore, no refund can be mandated, all in line with state rules.
The Illinois statute laying out these rules states, “A relocator [tow company] may be ordered by the Commission to refund towing or storage fees to the payor, after proper notice and hearing,” the ICC shared, an emphasis on the word “may” and the “hearing” requirement.
When asked previously about this, a spokesperson for the ICC said for towing companies facing these types of violations, “It [is] similar to getting a traffic ticket: a motorist can pay the fine and not go to court.”
Fines for towing companies facing these types of violations, such as the ones revealed in the Harvey and Boykin ICC investigations, were recently raised last summer, the ICC points out.
Even with the fine increase, the ICC confirmed that consumer refunds are still “voluntary” unless a formal Administrative Law hearing occurs.
No matter if the hearing occurs or not, the ICC said it provides the results of its investigations to consumers, in the event that they wish to pursue a refund in small claims court.
The lack of a state mandated refund adds more insult to an episode Harvey says he will never forget.
“It's just really been frustrating,” Harvey said. “What’s going to change this? Who’s going to change this?”
