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A University of Cincinnati student’s towing fees were waived recently after he filed a small-claims suit against Kenwood Towing for overcharging him by more than $450.

On a citywide level, Cincinnati City Council will be voting in the coming days on legislation that would enact harsh penalties against towing companies illegally charging overpriced fees for their services.

“I’m glad we’ve been able to raise awareness around this issue so that people don’t get taken advantage of,” said P.G. Sittenfeld, the first-time city councilman who brought the issue to the
council’s attention.

The motion was passed earlier this week by the city’s Budget & Finance Committee with unanimous, bipartisan support.

The new penalties for overcharging include an increase from the current $150 fine to a $1,000 fine, removal of repeat violators from the city’s towing rotation list and possible jail time for repeat offenders.

“We have heard from many towing companies telling us, ‘Thank you for cracking down on the bad apples who have been giving a bad name to those of us doing good, honest business,’” Sittenfeld said.

One towing company that hasn’t extended a thank you to the councilman is Kenwood Towing. The company is currently under investigation by the city prosecutor’s office, according to Sittenfeld.

“We didn’t do illegal towing,” said Joan, a Kenwood Towing representative who declined to be identified. Joan declined to give her last name and position with the company. “As far as the money goes, that was an error and honest. It was not intentional; it was a misrepresentative of an ordinance code, and it’s been taken care of.”

Although Kenwood Towing wouldn’t specify what error had “been taken care of,” one recent complaint involved Brandon Wright, a recent UC law school graduate.

Wright’s vehicle was towed from a private Clifton parking lot by Kenwood Towing on Jan. 19. The tow resulted in a $570 fee, an amount that was in extreme violation of the $90 tow fee and $12 daily storage fee that are the maximum rates for vehicles towed from a private parking lot under Ohio law.

Wright filed a small-claims suit against Kenwood Towing. The issue was resolved after negations mediated by the Cincinnati Police Department and the prosecutor’s office led Kenwood Towing to refund the excess charges that Wright paid in exchange for his withdrawal of the lawsuit.

Kenwood Towing is a popular choice for many Clifton businesses that have private parking lots, including Christy’s & Lenhardt’s and DuBois Book Store.

Neither business responded to calls as of press time.

The Better Business Bureau [BBB] gives Kenwood Towing a B- rating.
It lists the 19 complaints — four related to billing issues and 15 related to service or product issues — filed against the business as a factor that lowered its rating.

Kenwood Towing’s response to those 19 complaints and the length of time the company has been in business were listed as the factors that raised its BBB rating.