Several federal complaints in recent years claim towing companies have been illegally selling vehicles owned by military servicemembers.
Since 2011, the Department of Justice has obtained over $474 million in relief for more than 120,000 service members by enforcing the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.Earlier this year, the Department of Justice filed a complaint against the city of El Paso and two towing companies the city hired to impound and auction off cars without a court order that belonged to active-duty military people.
It’s not all that uncommon for some towing companies to break this law, and there’s no excuse for it, according to Craig Powell, CEO of AutoReturn, a national towing management company. “There really is no excuse for not knowing [the law], particularly if you’re experts in this domain,” he said. But still, he thinks some smaller companies may not be aware of every regulation they need to abide by.
In the El Paso case, the city hired two towing companies – United Road Towing and Rod Robertson Enterprises Inc. – which, according to the DOJ complaint, illegally towed and auctioned off 176 vehicles belonging to service members protected by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. It was illegal because the companies didn’t have a court order to do so. Neither of the El Paso companies could be reached for comment. The city of El Paso is listed in the complaint because it hired the companies.
The city of San Antonio also had to pay a settlement after the DOJ alleged similar violations took place there between 2011 and 2019. In that period, the city auctioned off at least 227 vehicles registered to people protected by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
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