Driver takes on towing company

Detailed complaint seeks to revoke license

Their stories couldn’t be more different.

Matthew Clark claims the tow truck driver basically blew him over, scrambling to the front of Matthew Clark’s minivan, tow gear in hand.

The driver dissed him, Clark claims, failing to inform him of a city-mandated option to pay a $50 fee to avoid the tow, and brushing off his attempts to pay it.

The tow company says Clark jumped in his vehicle when it was already hooked up, and that he was offered but refused to pay the “drop fee.”

Clark says he pleaded with the tow man. Sure, he had parked in a space assigned to another tenant outside his mom’s apartment building, but there were plenty of empty spots available. He was in and out in 10 minutes and his mom had just been victimized in a text scam, so he had to get her account information and report the fraud to her bank.

But his pleas got him nowhere, he says, and the tow truck operator drove off with Clark’s 2017 Chrysler Pacifica, plunging it into the depths of Abyss Towing LLC and the grips of a $355 retrieval fee.

“Despite my clear desperation to get my vehicle released, the tow truck driver ignored me at every step,” says Clark, who was also blown off when he tried to call the company’s owner to get back some of the cash he coughed up the next day to avoid additional charges.

In city crosshairs

Now the south side towing company known for swiftly swooping down on vehicles illegally parked on private property is in the crosshairs of a license revocation complaint filed by Clark to be taken up Nov. 14 by the Common Council’s License Committee.

The complaint accuses the tow truck operator of failing to inform Clark of the “drop fee” option and the company of illegally applying more than $200 in additional charges. In Wisconsin, a maximum of $150 in additional fees may be applied only under special circumstances, such as vehicles that weigh more than 10,000

pounds or tow trips that exceed 20 miles.

“The tow lot was 3.3 miles away from the apartment complex,” at 2919 W. Parnell Ave., Clark says in the complaint, adding that he was not given a receipt when he picked up his van.

“I was unable (to determine) how the charges amounted to a total of $355,” Clark’s complaint says.

A call from the Journal Sentinel to Abyss owner Anthony Lopez seeking a response to Clark’s claims was referred to the company’s attorney, who did not return a phone message.

But in response to a separate complaint that Clark filed with the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, the company claims Clark refused to show its driver his identification and vehicle registration as required for a drop fee release.

It also claims he refused to pay the drop fee and that his account is completely fabricated.

“Nobody likes to be towed, but property owners don’t like people illegally parking on their property illegally,” the response says.

“They have the right to enforce these laws … without these laws there would be no place for tenants who actually have permits to park.”

‘Fast friendly service’

The company, which boasts of “fast friendly service,” deals only with private property impounds, according to its website.

“That’s why we have such a speedy response time,” the company says.

State law allows for a maximum towing fee of $150, and $25 for each period of 24 consecutive hours that a vehicle is stored at an outdoor facility.

A $35 fee is allowed if the vehicle is stored at an indoor facility, and fees for trips exceeding 20 miles can only be assessed at $3 per mile.

Milwaukee also has a special ordinance allowing vehicle owners to pay the $50 drop fee directly to the tow truck operator to avoid the tow if the vehicle has not been fully hooked up to the truck.

“I’m familiar with the law,” said a man who did not identify himself but talked to Clark when he called Abyss and asked for the company’s owner.

Audio of phone conversation

An audiotape of the conversation included in the complaint file reveals Clark being brusquely brushed off while calmly pleading his case to the man.

“To be honest there’s really nothing we can do at this point,” the man says.

“You shouldn’t have been parked there illegally in the first place.”

The man admonishes Clark for entering the vehicle and starting the engine — which Clark claims he did before the driver appeared from the tow truck, adding that in hindsight he shouldn’t have done that.

The man is not moved.

“You already admitted to me that you would have done everything totally different,” the man says before telling Clark to “have a nice day,” and hanging up.

But Clark wasn’t about to let it go.

F rating with Better Business Bureau

He filed complaints against Abyss with the state and the Better Business Bureau, which has given the business an F rating, the lowest on the BBB scale.

In September, Clark submitted the meticulously compiled complaint file with the city License Committee, complete with timelines, appendixes and citations of the city ordinance and state law governing towing.

“It is rather time-consuming and requires some modicum of dedication to submit a revocation complaint to the city,” Clark said in an email Monday.

“Many people do not have the time or the resources to make a complaint as $355 isn’t necessarily worth the time it takes to attempt to prove the wrongful acts.”

The complaint file also includes city data on Abyss Towing that shows no reported vehicle drop fees among 3,587 private tows from 2016 through September of this year.

“Perhaps the drop fee is rarely, if ever, offered by Abyss Towing,” Clark said in the complaint.