LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA — A Los Angeles woman paid $3,000 in cash to get her own car back after a tow truck driver showed up at her crash scene, falsely claimed police had sent him, and took her vehicle to a yard she never chose.
Brittany Williams was involved in a crash when a tow truck driver approached her within minutes. He told her police had contacted him and offered to help. Williams signed a towing receipt. After that, her car was taken to an unknown tow yard. When she tried to call the driver, the phone number was disconnected. When she looked up the business address on the bill, it led to railroad tracks in South Los Angeles — not a real business.
Williams tracked down the tow yard and was told it would cost $6,000 to fix the car and $3,000 just to get it back. She went to the yard with police and recorded the interaction. The man at the yard counted out $3,000 in cash before releasing the vehicle. Because she had signed the tow receipt, she had no legal recourse at the scene. Her car remains damaged and she is still fighting with her insurance company to get it fixed.
Photo credit: Brittany Williams
The situation has made life significantly harder for Williams, who is currently undergoing kidney dialysis. Without her car, she struggles to get to her medical appointments. “A nightmare, a nightmare,” Williams said. “I was able to get comfortably to my appointments. Now I’m having to depend on someone else or transportation to get there and it’s not easy, it’s horrible.”
Photo credit: Brittany Williams
LAPD investigators say predatory tow truck drivers monitor police scanners and race to accident scenes before legitimate operators arrive. They pressure victims to sign blank invoices on the spot. LAPD Lt. Scott Moffitt said drivers should never sign blank invoices and should know they have the right to choose where their vehicle is taken. “Once a tow truck driver is not willing to bring you the vehicle to where you ask them to send it, that should be an immediate warning sign,” Moffitt said. In the city of Los Angeles, all tow truck drivers must hold a permit from the Board of Police Commissioners.
Investigators are actively looking into Williams’ case. She says she wants others to know what happened. “Just want to get this story out so that other people don’t get scammed like how I was,” she said.
Interview courtesy of ABC7 Los Angeles.
📸 Image(s) used under fair use for news reporting.
