Several drivers are raising concerns about a towing company they believe is operating illegally after cars were towed and damaged during the weekend of Aftershock.
Bruce Capagli is one of those drivers. He parked in a lot on Bercut Drive and attended the Aftershock music festival. When he returned to the lot after the shows, his car was gone, but there was a temporary sign with a phone number to call for vehicles that had been towed.
Capagli said he became concerned when he called the number and instead of answering his questions, the person on the other side of the line gave him an address on Del Paso Boulevard where he could come retrieve his car.
When he arrived at the address, Bruce immediately had more questions. The towing company, identified in paperwork and a sign on the door as “J&B Towing”, required payment to retrieve vehicles, as outlined by pre-printed receipts for the total: $562.
That location, CBS Sacramento confirmed, was a shared office with an auto body shop.
From there, Capagli said he was driven in a white Honda Civic to another location, a dirt field in a residential area.
“I knew something was up when we saw a rig that was a Lincoln Navigator with a trailer pulling another car off the lot,” Capagli said.
CBS Sacramento confirmed that the dirt lot where drivers picked up their vehicles does not have any signage related to a towing operation or the company on the paperwork.
Capagli said he was given an affidavit of towing authorization that he believes was forged. The document named Allied Universal as the company that requested the tow, but the number written on the form was connected to the towing company.
In a statement, Allied Universal told CBS Sacramento they do not provide guarding services over the weekend at the location where Capagli’s car was towed and they do not contract with towing services.
“Our services at this location only include guarding services in the lobby inside the building of one tenant. We do not provide guarding services over the weekend and we are not responsible for the building’s parking facilities. In addition, Allied Universal does not contract with towing services,” the statement says.
Capagli also questioned the preprinted invoices, which he said did not include key information, including the vehicle identification number, the time of the tow or the time the vehicle was released.
“I knew immediately when I went to a location that’s not a tow yard and I could find no record of being an authorized tow company that something wasn’t right,” Capagli said.
Capagli ultimately got his car back, but said it was damaged so badly that he cannot drive it. His insurance is treating the incident as a stolen vehicle, not a tow with damage, he said.
“My vehicle wasn’t towed. It was stolen,” Capagli said.
Capagli is not the only driver describing a similar experience. Other drivers have reported returning to find their vehicles missing, receiving a phone number to call and being directed to an address on Del Paso Boulevard to retrieve their cars, and paying the same $562 amount.
Multiple other drivers have provided us the same pre-printed receipt with a “J&B Towing” name on it for towing operations that happened on other days in other areas of Sacramento.
The towing company’s owner said Friday the company was legitimate, but did not provide a license number. The owner also declined interviews and did not provide any requested license documentation.
A company with the name, “J&B Towing”, is listed on the Department of Transportation Registration System with an active status. However, there is no company with the same name listed on other license and business searches required to legally operate a towing company in California.
“My vehicle wasn’t towed, it was stolen,” Capagli said.
A police report has been filed with the Sacramento Police Department.
Source: www.cbsnews.com
