SF bans towing company from city contracts for 5 years over illegal tows
A towing company in San Francisco has been banned from receiving city contracts for the next five years after illegally towing vehicles, officials said Tuesday.
City Attorney David Chiu announced that his office was granted a request to ban the company Auto Towing LLC, saying the company engaged in "predatory behavior" along with "unfair business practices."
"This company intentionally misled and scammed people out of hundreds of dollars by illegally towing cars. Our City has no interest in contracting with exploitative businesses engaged in illegal conduct," Chiu said in a statement Tuesday.
According to the city attorney, Auto Towing towed several cars from the parking lot of a Bank of the West branch in the Portola neighborhood between February and May 2023. Chiu said the company did not receive permission of the property owner.
Auto Towing had also towed vehicles to a lot belonging to a different towing company on Oakdale Avenue instead of its permitted operating location at 1229 Underwood Avenue, which made it more difficult for the vehicle owners to retrieve their cars, Chiu said.
Last August, when Chiu announced he was initiating proceedings against Auto Towing, the city attorney said the company had illegally installed its own signs in the parking lot of the bank, which constitutes trespassing. The company had also allegedly limited the times when vehicles could be retrieved and pressured vehicle owners to pay in cash.
Chiu said the victims were primarily Spanish-speaking and Cantonese-speaking residents, which he said are vulnerable to predatory tows.
Under the California Vehicle Code, owners have the right to retrieve towed vehicles 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and the right to pay with cash or credit card.
Earlier this year, Chiu had suspended Auto Towing, along with several individuals and affiliated companies, after owners Abigail Fuentes and Jose Badillo were charged in a welfare fraud scheme.
According to a statement from the City Attorney's office in February, Fuentes had worked as a Human Services Agency Senior Eligibility Worker, approving applications for public welfare programs. Fuentes allegedly approved Badillo's application without disclosing a personal relationship with him.
The pair were also accused of lying about their "substantial" income and assets to receive public benefits, which included Medi-Cal, CalFresh and CalWORKS.
Chiu said Fuentes, Badillo and affiliated entities remain suspended from receiving city funds.