Appellate court rules NYC can sever ties with Runway Towing, accused of overcharging customers
NEW YORK -- There is an update to an exclusive story CBS2 has been following.
An appellate court has ruled the city can sever ties with a Queens towing company tasked with clearing some city highways.
CBS2 first reported allegations in 2020 that the company was overcharging consumers.
Tows to Runway Towing's South Ozone Park lot are supposed to stop come Feb. 1. An appellate judge has ruled New York City can deny to renew the company's license, saying in the ruling the city had "rationally determined that Runway repeatedly charged excessive towing and storage fees."
The license ends Jan. 31, but for years Runway has had the exclusive contract with the city to keep nine highways clear.
"I'm grateful to your news station and you, Lisa, for sharing my story and not only my story, everybody else who fell victim to Runway," consumer Michael Martin said.
CBS2 first reported on a class-action lawsuit filed by consumers against the company in 2020. Martin said he was wrongfully billed thousands of dollars when the company towed his commercial truck from the Belt Parkway to its Queens facility.
Monique Perreria said she was overcharged hundreds of dollars when her motorcycle was taken from Staten Island to Queens.
The city's towing bill of rights says a consumer has a right to have their vehicle towed to their location of choice, as long as it's somewhere off the highway.
"I feel like it's the right thing to do because they've been taking advantage of a lot of people for so long," Perreira said.
And it's not just customers -- former employees told CBS2 they are grateful, too.
"God is looking down. That's all I can say," ex-Runway employee Ronnie Chapman said. "What they did was wrong. They had us overcharge customers and they had us bring cars back to their place. Us as employees, we had no choice. We would either do what they say or lose our job."
A city Law Department spokesperson said it's "pleased with the ruling," adding Runway must surrender all medallions once the license expires.
Runway's attorney told CBS2, in part, "Runway denies it committed any violation. ... The penalty of non-renewal is excessive and disproportionate to the claimed violations... and if allowed to stand hurts the city as Runway provides an essential service and has done it well for more than 14 years."
A separate class-action lawsuit on behalf of drivers and former employees is still in litigation.
"It's just unfortunate this didn't happen years ago before thousands of people were overcharged, losing millions of dollars," attorney Gary Rosen said. "I believe now there will be towing companies that will be more closely monitored by Consumer Affairs by the Police Department."
Neither the NYPD nor the city could tell CBS2 who will tow on the highways after Feb. 1.
The NYPD says it is working towards a solution. If you need a tow, make sure the receipt has the city's consumer bill of rights on the back. That explains the charges.