WASHINGTON — A proposed rule aimed at cracking down on junk fees charged to consumers has caught the attention of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
The proposed rule, issued by the Federal Trade Commission last year, would, among other things, allow the FTC to seek civil penalties against fraudsters and more readily obtain financial remedies for consumers who are harmed.
FMCSA weighed in on the proposal by calling out unscrupulous towing companies that overcharge truck drivers who call for assistance for a variety of reasons, including when they are involved in a crash.
“Predatory towing negatively impacts consumers, including commercial motor vehicle drivers and trucking companies,” said FMCSA Acting Deputy Administrator Sue Lawless. “It is detrimental to the overall health of the trucking industry, and it’s time to end excessive rates, surcharges and other unfair fees associated with predatory towing.”
In comments submitted to the FTC on Wednesday, Lawless cites several potentially unfair or deceptive fee practices used by predatory towers. They include hiding fees until the job is completed, charging for unnecessary or worthless services, and imposing an excessive number of fees for excessive amounts – all of which can add up to thousands of dollars, she said.
Once towed, truck owners and operators “are in a very vulnerable position and highly susceptible to predation,” Lawless wrote. “Predatory towing companies can and do use their possession of the vehicle as leverage to price gouge and otherwise prey upon [drivers] who are in no position to push back.”
Such practices, she asserted, “fall within the purview of the proposed regulation “which would greatly benefit truckers if finalized.”
A study published by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) in November found that excessive rates and unwarranted additional service charges were the two most common forms of predatory towing, experienced by 82.7% and 81.8% of surveyed motor carriers, respectively.
ATRI also found that 29.8% of invoices were found to include either excessive rates or excessive additional charges. Roughly half of these cases had excessive rates for equipment, labor or storage, and the other half had excessive miscellaneous or administrative charges.
In supporting prohibitions or restrictions on excessive fee practices, FMCSA urged FTC to focus on consumers “who have little to no ability to avoid, negotiate, decline, anticipate, or limit the number or cost of the fees, or consumers who are vulnerable, in distress, or otherwise limited in choice by their circumstances.”
The agency suggested that a final rule treat each illegal junk fee as a separate violation, and that it expressly prohibit companies from charging or collecting fees “that are not appropriately disclosed, are not included in the total price, and/or cannot be fully calculated upfront.”
In addition, because truck drivers often drive in multiple states, FMCSA requested that the FTC “provide guidance on how [the proposed regulation] would affect different state and local laws governing fees in the towing industry, either in the final rule or in subsequent interpretive guidance.”
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Wayne
Magills towing in Pitcairn pa 15140,towed my customers car on 12/27/2023 as requested by my customer,(Jackson) for a minor accident,the very next morning he went to pay his tow bill and then bring it to my shop one block away and found out it was $1400.he called his INS Co and they handled it.total price gouging!
BRIAN MAY
The state of Washington is a joke and provides excuse to Tow Co to exploit carriers. If State Patrol or DOT call in a tow the Tow company assigned can charge 2 to 3 times standard rates . recent break down and own tow company dispatched, DOT called their preferred tow who dropped everything and came to scene 880.00 to tow truck and trailer of to shoulder 60 yards
Daniel Gonzalez
This towing kuacks, need to heavily find & them deported to Siberia !!
SEDRICK E WELLS
Thank God I’ve never had to get a tow. I can’t imagine have to fork over some of the crazy amounts these tow companies charge. They basically use the fact that we are dependent on our trucks and have no recourse so they essentially hold our livelihoods for ransom. It’s about time the government reel in this people and help us truckers in this fight. It’s bad enough when we have a incident that requires us to need a tow. The repair bill is already going to be enough but having to pay 10’s of thousands of dollars to get towed is just immoral and down right criminal.
Daniel Robert
Jonny towing in another name priority in Chicago and Aurora iL are the highway robbers. We agreed $400 to tow my truck to the shop which was less than 6 miles after hooking up they changed the price up to $1200 and drove away with my truck, I called the cops they told me nothing they can do about it, I paid them $1200.The owner of that company is x-police so nothing you can do about them.
Renee
All these people that makes the rules an regulations needs to operate a towing company first because they have NO CLUE what it takes to run one.They have never even answered a phone for one.These big trucks are not cheap as the trucking company’s should know, an the Ins.is out righteous on top of that you have workers comp. fuel, payroll.Nobody worries about another kind of businesses.
Kenny Johnston
This would be an awesome deal .. I had a truck slide off the road during a snow storm the police had a company pull it off the road and take it to their shop less then 1 mile away the bill they made us pay was almost $15,000. And then threatened us with jail if we didn’t pay.
Abdulkadir
I got stuck my truck trailer in Pennsylvania I call police we agreed 1600$ ,will pay by tql company ,time was 3 am -7 am , later on tql broker charge me 4300$ send me to pay ,&hold my invoices around 8000 not paid me . I quit truck driving &operated.