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Category: Laws / Road Transport / Police / State Parliament

Tow truck firm says Qld police not paying debts on forfeited cars

Monday, 12 Sep 2016 16:00:16 | Alexandra Blucher

Tow.com.au has an exclusive contract with QPS to tow and impound cars. (Facebook: Tow.com.au)

A towing company is threatening to take legal action against the Queensland Police Service (QPS) for money it claims to be owed for storing vehicles forfeited under the state's anti-hooning laws.

Tow.com.au holds the exclusive contract with police to tow and impound vehicles under new laws introduced in November 2013, broadening the impoundment and forfeiture provisions.

The company owns few tow trucks of its own and instead contracts out the majority of its work to other tow truck operators across Queensland.

The ABC can reveal that Tow.com.au has sent an email to its contractors notifying them it has issued legal notices to QPS and individuals who have not paid for large storage bills.

The ABC has spoken to more than 10 contractors across Queensland who are currently owed or have previously been owed tens of thousands of dollars by Tow.com.au for the storage of vehicles impounded under these laws.

One contractor told the ABC charges for months of storage often amounted to more than the value of the cars being stored.

The email, from company CEO Dominic Holland, said QPS advised the company in February that once a vehicle is forfeited to the state the storage charges are to be billed to QPS.

Mr Holland said his company began invoicing and back-invoicing QPS for all storage past the forfeiture date in March this year.

Queensland Police accused of owing tow truck companies Photo: The rules on vehicle forfeiture, as spelt out on the tow.com.au website. (Tow.com.au)

"Since that time, despite having an agreed 30 days to make payment, QPS have failed to pay for any of these invoices, despite it being their advice to issue them," Mr Holland wrote.

His letter also revealed that on September 2, Tow.com.au's law firm sent a "formal legal notice to QPS requesting payment in full within 30 days".

His email said: "To date we have sold 3,364 vehicles which have a combined debt owing in excess of $10 million."

But Mr Holland's letter did not reveal how much the company received for those cars, how much was owed to sub-contractors or how much it claimed to be owed by police.

The company is receiving court judgments against debtors, which are marked on credit files and mean those people can no longer obtain credit cards, mortgages or car loans.

Mr Holland's letter also outlined that Tow.com.au was recouping funds via the Magistrates Court from individuals who owed money for the storage of their cars.

Towing and storage contact under review

The ABC can also reveal QPS is reviewing its contract with Tow.com.au.

Last month, Assistant Commissioner Mike Keating said police would examine concerns from sub-contractors who claimed they had not been paid as part of the contract review.

"That's certainly something that we would discuss with Tow.com.au and in fact we've become aware of matters like that in the past and we've spoken to Tow.com.au, so that is clearly something that we will look at in the review," Mr Keating said.

tow.com.au CEO Dominic Holland Photo: CEO Dominic Holland emailed contractors notifying them of pending legal action. (LinkedIn)

Asked if he was concerned QPS was being overcharged by Tow.com.au for storage, he said: "We need to talk to Tow.com.au as part of our review and that would certainly be part of it.

"It would be irresponsible or unexpected for us to pay for something that we're not liable for of course — this is the Queensland Government's money ... if there is a matter that we think we need to raise ... then we will do that."

In a statement on Monday, QPS told the ABC: "The matter is subject to legal advice and ongoing negotiations with Tow.com.au."

A spokesperson for Tow.com.au said: "We hold vehicles, at the direction of the police, which have been confiscated from reckless drivers who have endangered others on the road.

"It is not surprising that people who flout driving laws are reluctant to pay for the storage of their vehicles, and we take all available legal steps to ensure those responsible for vehicle storage costs promptly pay our contractor network.

"We continue to work closely with the Queensland Police Service to help keep our roads safe and are confident we will resolve this issue in the near future," the spokesperson said.

Storage charges often 'more than value of cars'

Several contractors were reluctant to speak to the ABC as they feared they would not be paid.

A regional Queensland contractor, who declined to be named, said he was owed thousands of dollars.

"I have just got to chase the money we are owed and I've sent a message saying that if I am not going to get paid I won't do the next job," the contractor said.

"[There is] in excess of $10,000 of storage fees that I won't be paid for. We haven't been paid for May and June and July, for towing or storage. Some of the storage owed goes back to when we started with Tow.com.au about two years ago.

"Contractors are storing vehicles and not being paid for it, and the reason for that is if a $2,000 car is impounded, the minimum rate is $25 a day for a standard 90-day impound, which is more than the value of the car.

"We've got yards full of vehicles that can't be disposed of and they are running up storage bills ... it's money that we are entitled to but we are not going to get."

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