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Police raid Dominion Towing in WoodbridgeMar 06, 2009 (News & Messenger - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- PDF: The Search Warrant Police raided a Woodbridge wrecker service this week on suspicion the company overcharged customers by at least $301,500 over the past year. Dominion Wrecker Service at 15009 Jefferson Davis Highway is the target of an investigation into unauthorized towing charges for illegal parking, according to a search warrant affidavit filed at the Prince William County Courthouse. Andrew Manson, identified by police as the owner of the towing company, is accused of charging a minimum of $125 per car his company tows, the affidavit states. The maximum charge for towing a truck and heavier vehicles is $125. No one had been charged Thursday as a result of the investigation, and Manson -- contacted Thursday afternoon -- refused to comment on the search. The search of the company's property is the result of "numerous complaints stemming from the towing practices of Dominion Wrecker Service," the affidavit stated. A county ordinance passed in 1992 limits the sum of money a wrecker service can charge to $75 per car if it is towed during daylight hours Monday through Friday. The ordinance does allow the wrecker service to add an additional $25 to the total fee if the car is towed on a weekend or holiday. Dominion towed more than 6,000 cars in Prince William County last year, according to the affidavit filed Wednesday by county officer Larry Beaver. One of those tows involved the removal of a tractor-trailer from a county street on May 8, 2008. When the truck owner called Dominion and asked how much it would be to get his impounded truck back, he was quoted $400, the affidavit said. That price is $275 more than the county ordinance allows. According to the affidavit, the victim had a police officer accompany him to Dominion Wrecker service to get his truck. The officer told Manson that he could not charge the $400 price, and had to follow county code, charging only $125 for the tow. After arguing with the officer that the $125 fee as "insufficient and unreasonable," the affidavit stated Manson released the truck from his lot, charging the legal rate. On July 6 the same tractor trailer was towed again, according to the affidavit. This time Manson allegedly charged the driver $700 to retrieve his truck -- a $250 fee to tow the truck from the wrecker company's impound lot and another $200 administrative fee, court documents said. County ordinance allows a maximum charge of just $125 to tow a truck and another $125 to impound it in a private lot. According to the affidavit, the $200 administrative fee and $250 tow fee are illegal. "[The truck owner] stated that he was told by Mr. Manson that it was not right for him to bring police to his business," according to the affidavit. Police again confronted Manson on overcharging in December, after a Prince William County resident said Dominion charged her $125 after towing her car, the affidavit said. The woman tried to explain the county's ordinance that limits tow charges to $75, but reported that Manson charged a higher fee. Manson appeared in court on charges of violating county code, but the case was continued by a judge, the affidavit said. Outside the courtroom, police officers and a prosecutor told Manson to stop overcharging, according to the affidavit. "Mr. Manson's response to that was 'I can't do that,'" according to the affidavit. The complaints against Dominion Wrecker Service have continued since that courthouse conversation. Between Dec. 8 and Feb. 9, police received 11 complaints against the company, all related to illegal towing and attempted overcharging, the affidavit said. Manson has also been accused of posting illegal fees outside of his business -- advertising a base rate of $125 for any impounded car. Another county ordinance requires the towing agency to obtain the signature of the car's owner, or from the property manager who requested the tow, before it is towed. Police in the affidavit said at least 17 cars have been towed without those signatures, or have been towed with false signatures. During Wednesday's search at Dominion, police seized paperwork, files, compact discs, floppy discs, a laptop computer, a desktop computer and a flash drive. Police said the investigation is ongoing. Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065. To see more of the News & Messenger or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.insidenova.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, News & Messenger, Manassas, Va. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |