Month after a warning predator towing practices in Edmonton, the police posed fraud Accusations against several local tow truck operators.
The Edmonton police service said on Wednesday that it billed 11 owners of 10 local tow trucks with regard to fraudulent billing practices with insurance companies.
Last summer, the police began investigating the business practices of the craft companies that required people to use their services in collision stages.
THE Alberta Motor Association (Ama) too has issued a warning on predatory towing last winter. The AMA said that operators contrary to ethics will arrive at a scene of collision or non -invited breakdown, will create a false sense of emergency to move the vehicle and ultimately leave the drivers confronted with enormous costs.
The association said that until 2024, the “accident hunters” of the tow truck were practically non -existent. But then, last summer, the province saw a sharp increase in complaints – Edmonton and Calgary in particular.
The AMA said that it was important to know your rights before the crooks arise:
- You have the right to refuse non -demanded towing services
- You have the right to choose who draws your vehicle and where, unless otherwise indicated by the police
- You have the right to access your vehicle to recover personal items during office hours
- You have the right to ask if the towing company receives a bribes to bring your vehicle to a storage installation or a particular repair workshop
- You have the right to a quote before the service and a detailed invoice before making the payment
Police said that during their investigation, the police discovered that numerous tow truck companies in Edmonton would have fraudulently invoicing insurance companies for services that were not provided.
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BPA said it also learned that companies would have inflated invoices, in particular by charging more than $ 5,000 for basic collision towing that would generally cost only a few hundred dollars.
The police estimate that at the time, 10 companies fraudulently billed insurance companies, a combined total of more than $ 120,000.
“Direct billing fraud to an insurance company can be particularly difficult to notice for the police holder,” said Det. Bryan Niehaus with the EPS survey intervention team.
“It is always preferable to contact your insurer for a full service invoice after using a tow truck.
“As always, motorists have the right to choose their supplier of convenience stores and should not feel obliged to accept the services at the scene of a collision.”
Edmonton police do not believe that the 10 different independent companies or their 11 owners have a professional relationship with each other.
Between March and May, the police charged the owners of the following fraud companies:
- AMK Towing – Mosfa Khalaf, 28
- Avenue Towing – Madlool Traim, 52
- Discount Towing Ltd. – Mahmoud El Annan, 42
- Edmonton Towing Services Ltd. – Amongter Swatch, 46, and Ravinder Toor, 51
- Infinity Towing & Recovery Services Corp. – Mehdi El Alouane 41
- My Big Tow Inc. – Mahmoud Mahdaoui, 42
- Even Boss Towing Ltd. (formerly Super Towing Ltd.) – Hasan al -Adhban, 49
- TBT Towing Ltd. – Sukhijinder Singh, 38
- Unlimited Towing & Recovery Service Ltd. – Ahmed Ait Rais, 38
- 2652736 Alberta Inc. – Rojan Sivarajah, 35
The judicial dates of these business owners took place during the month of May, said the police, adding that the investigation into towing fraud remains in progress.
– With Jasmine King files, Global News
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