P.E.I. towing companies lose thousands in unclaimed vehicles
Some P.E.I. towing companies say they lose thousands of dollars in towing and storage fees from unclaimed vehicles and there's nothing they can do about it.
Part of the job is to respond to RCMP and city police to clear vehicles from roads that have been involved in accidents, said Mike Hennebury, a dispatcher at Shaw's Towing in Charlottetown.
"Anything with any major damage to it would definitely have to come either here to our compound or to a different body shop," he said.
Towing companies don't have an obligation to do any job, Hannebury said, but they're not going to turn down business if they get a call — even if it's not always guaranteed that someone will pay for the work that they do.
Unpaid towing, storage fees
Typically, the owner of the vehicle is responsible for paying the towing fee but Hennebury said there are a portion of vehicles brought to the lot that go unclaimed — and that's when the company starts losing money.
"Most of that stuff is not really worth the 90 days of impoundment for anybody to try transfer titles or anything like that ," he said.
"If you hold onto it for 90 days, you're looking at over $700 in just impound fees alone."
'The nature of the business'
Over the course of the year, the company said it has enough vehicles go unclaimed that it loses thousands of dollars. The only option to get some money back is to sell the vehicle for parts after the 90 days.
"It's frustrating to see $1,000 go out the door for $150 but what do you do?"
Hennebury said he understands that some cars just aren't worth it for some owners to come pick up and claim and that other owners don't have the insurance to pay for them.
If someone comes to collect their belongings from the vehicle, he said, owners will sometimes sign over the registration and the company can then sell the car for parts much quicker — but that doesn't always happen.
"I think it's just the nature of the business really. You're in the business. You've got to suck it up."
It's the 'owner's responsibility'
This has been a problem for years, said Gary Howard, vice-president of communications with the Canadian Automobile Association Atlantic.
"The cost can vary but yes it happens enough for the association to pay attention to," Howard said.
"Any time any kind of company does work and they're left unpaid, that's a concern."
In terms of possible solutions to the problem, it comes down to vehicle owners taking responsibility and paying their bills, Howard said.
"That would be the same as if you took your car to have it repaired and didn't come back or didn't pay the bill for the repair. The towing company is taking care of your vehicle ... so it's an owner's responsibility to pay for that."
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