New York City’s consumer watchdog agency is forcing a pair of towing companies to issue $66,500 in refunds after officials said they defrauded car owners.
The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection on Friday said the funds will be given out to people towed by Staten Island-based Breen Bros Towing and Brooklyn-based Daniyyel Towing. The agency said the companies routinely overcharged people after towing their cars, ordered people to pay in cash and failed to keep proper records of their transactions.
Both companies are licensed to haul away cars that block driveways or are left in private parking lots. When a driver’s vehicle gets towed in those cases, they have to retrieve it from tow yards. Towing companies can take advantage of drivers’ desperation by demanding inflated storage fees and other bogus charges.
The consumer watchdog agency said that Breen Bros admitted to 250 counts of record-keeping violations, such as giving customers phony or blank receipts. Investigators identified another 385 violations for record-keeping violations and overcharging drivers by Daniyyel Towing.
Breen Bros was forced to give up $46,500, while regulators said another $20,000 would be available later this fall to car owners who were ripped off by Daniyyel Towing. Since Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office, the city has expanded its crackdown on towing scams, with a particular focus on licensed companies that rip off drivers.
But the city has still struggled to rein in the hundreds of unlicensed tow trucks that operate with impunity across the five boroughs. Gothamist earlier this year reported drivers of unlicensed tow trucks frequently speed, run red lights and overcharge customers.
“Having your car towed is almost always a universally stressful and unexpected experience,” DCWP Commissioner Samuel Levine said in a statement. “No New Yorker should have to head to the impound lot wondering if they’ve been overcharged or ripped off.”
“The restitution funds secured for victims of Breen Bros and Daniyyel Towing are tangible wins that put money directly back in people’s pockets, and this agency will not hesitate to hold other bad actors accountable,” he added.
The towing companies declined to give customers proper receipts in order to hide a paper trail showing they overcharged consumers, according to the city.
A representative for Daniyyel Towing declined to comment on the enforcement action. Breen Bros could not be reached for comment.
City officials began looking into Daniyyel Towing after getting a surge of consumer complaints, agency officials said in the release.
Consumers who believe they are owed cash in the settlements can file a claim with the city.