OAK LAWN, ILLINOIS — A Wisconsin trucking company was facing a $46,000 towing bill after one of its trucks became wedged under a Chicago viaduct — until the owner called a local news station, showed up at the tow company’s lot, and watched the bill drop to $5,000 within hours.
Tim Smith with DPW Trucking said his truck got wedged under a viaduct in Chicago in early April. The initial towing quote was only a few thousand dollars, but by the time the company went to retrieve the truck, it had ballooned to $46,000. “It was like: ‘You have to be kidding me! How do you come up with $46,000!'” Smith said.
DPW Trucking owner Kristin Crawford began researching the towing company, Official Towing, and found it had previously appeared in news coverage for charging excessive prices for semi-truck towing. She said getting anyone on the phone was nearly impossible. “They don’t want to talk to you on the phone. They literally hang up on you. And then it says on their email, they will not negotiate the rate,” Crawford said.
Crawford then reached out to another trucking company that had previously dealt with Official Towing and asked how they resolved it. The answer was clear. “I actually called that company and talked to them and asked them how they got through this and they said the only way that they got through was when you guys showed up,” Crawford said to WGN News.
Crawford and Smith met WGN News outside Official Towing’s lot in the 9200 block of South Kilpatrick in Oak Lawn. Shortly after the news crew arrived and an unsuccessful phone call was made, the towing company’s owner sent a message — DPW could retrieve the truck for $5,000 instead of $46,000. With assistance from Oak Lawn Police, DPW Trucking got their truck back and returned it to Wisconsin.
“They’re like bugs,” Crawford said. “They scurry when the police or the news come. We wouldn’t have our truck if it wasn’t for you. We would not have it back. It would still be sitting there and we would still be fighting with them and losing sleep.”
A Pattern of Complaints
Official Towing has faced complaints for excessive towing bills previously. The recorded owner, Ahmed Shalabi, has given conflicting information about whether the company is licensed to operate within Chicago city limits, saying the city is “notorious for how difficult, time-consuming and expensive it is even to get a basic city license.”
In a statement, Official Towing said: “Conflict with customers, and with other towing companies, is also bad for business. Official Towing values its ability to serve the public in Chicago above its right to collect every penny it is owed on every tow.”
Interviews courtesy of WGN News.
📸 Image(s) used under fair use for news reporting.
