OTA applauds new heavy-duty towing rules
TORONTO, Ont. — The Ontario provincial government introduced new rules on Jan. 1 for towing and vehicle storage services in response to growing complaints from passenger and commercial vehicle operators.
Complaints were over skyrocketing towing bills and reportedly questionable and intimidating roadside practices by some in the recovery industry.
The OTA applauded Minister of Government and Consumer Services, Maria-France Lalonde and Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca for championing the bill and “helping vehicle owners gain some legal leverage over unscrupulous recovery operators,” said OTA president Stephen Laskowski.
The passing of Bill 15, Fighting Fraud and Reducing Automobile Insurance Rates Act, 2014, requires tow and storage providers in Ontario to publicly disclose recovery rates.
“The passing of Bill 15 provides OTA with a new opportunity to assist OTA members in dealing with unfair heavy-duty recovery bills received in the province. OTA intends to investigate whether the actual bill heavy-duty recovery companies charge at roadside reflects the rates they are officially listing on their websites. We expect to discover there are no issues with the vast majority of heavy-duty recovery companies. But, just like in any other sector, it only takes a few bad apples to reflect poorly on an entire industry,” said Laskowski.
To conduct this analysis, OTA will be asking members to send the association all heavy-duty recovery invoices they received in 2016 along with a description of the service paid for. OTA will then do a comparison between geographical regions, types of services provided and posted heavy-duty recovery rates. OTA will continue to collect heavy-duty recovery invoices throughout 2017 so-year-over comparisons can be examined.
“Our goal is to keep an eye on the marketplace and educate our members on fair heavy-duty recovery rates based on service rendered and region of activity,” added Laskowski. “If we can identify abnormalities among certain regions, this will assist OTA in holding informed discussions with the Ontario Provincial Police, Ministry of Government and Consumer Services and the Ministry of Transportation.”
To participate, the OTA is asking interested members to scan any heavy-duty recovery invoices they received in Ontario in 2016 and so far in 2017 and forward them to otatowing@ontruck.org.
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This bill should have been in place long before it actually finally was implemented. Towing companies gouge the customer like there’s no tomorrow. These guys need to be watched very carefully and if they don’t follow the listed/ posted price on their websites and try to rip the public off, then they shouldn’t be in the business.