'They're a menace': London Towing Association supports by-law enforcement

The London Towing Association said it is pleased with the results of a recent city by-law blitz in the industry, but would have liked to see more action sooner.

"They're a menace," said Dwayne Cameron, the association's president, referring to the 12 companies hit with penalties under the city's towing regulations.

In total, 92 violations and 10 warnings were issued, and there are still pending business license suspensions, according to the city.

"One of the main complaints from first responders is the chaos at the accident scene because of the number of tow trucks that have arrived," said Orest Katolyk, the city's municipal compliance director.

"There's five, six, seven tow trucks there," explained Cameron. "They're blocking up the streets, blocking the road. They're just causing a nuisance."

Last year, the city introduced limits on towing fees, capping them at $275, but the investigation found multiple companies were charging well beyond that, or weren't able to provide adequate documentation to prove they were charging legal rates.

"We did a search of the invoices at accident scenes and identified numerous violations for tow charges from accident scenes, as well as impound charges," said Katolyk.

The city capped storage fees at $50 a day.

There has also been a series of violent incidents in the towing sector recently, which includes an arson investigation into burned vehicles, and gunshots fired at a tow truck by a rival company.

Tow trucks that were damaged in suspected arson are seen in London, Ont. on Nov. 14, 2022. (Jim Knight/CTV News London)

This enforcement blitz was planned "well before" those incidents, according to Katolyk.

Going forward, public and first responder feedback will dictate future bylaw action.

"It's largely complaint driven," said Kotalyk. "It's also very much data driven. So if we have a category that nobody is complaining about and everything is running smoothly, there's no cost benefit to doing a blitz."

There's no shortage of complaints in towing though, added Cameron, as customers are often targeted with price gouging tactics by companies that will lie about their options.

"We had an incident Saturday where they actually said that they were affiliated with us, and they weren't," said Cameron.

Cameron offered one final piece of advice to drivers.

"You have the right to choose whoever you want,” he said. “You don't have to use the first on scene. Call whoever you want."