Hello Everyone! 

I know it has been awhile since I’ve posted an update to the petition but I have been working hard at getting the city contract with Crow Tow ended. I’ve emailed the City Manager’s office, the City Attorney’s office, and corresponded with a few city council members directly.

Unfortunately, I am sad to report that so far it doesn’t appear to be making a difference. Not one person has agreed that they are in support of ending the contract and freeing us from Crow Tow’s “tyranny”.

Don’t worry quite yet - we aren’t quitting after the first round..

If you completely lost ownership of your vehicle (because you couldn’t afford the towing and storage fees to get it back or for registration/titling legal reasons or for any other reason at all) to Crow Tow there is something that many don’t realize—- If at the time of tow, you were parked on public property  (or if police impound or police call after accident) and your vehicle ended up being auctioned off - Crow Tow doesn’t keep that money. The funds from these auctions goes back to the city first (after tow fee which is a SET low amount not the `$150-200+ we pay) and eventually to the state of Iowa. I don’t have exact numbers but based on conversation I had with a prior Crow Tow employee- the auction for these vehicles is usually once per month and during the time he worked there, every month the average number of vehicles auctioned off was 150-250. He said the lowest he had seen was 75 vehicles at one of the auctions so even if we take the low and not the average that would be 900 vehicles (per year) that the city directly profited off of.. Thought you all should know

If however you were on private property, Crow Tow does keep that money.

Interestingly enough; I received a Cease & Desist letter from Crow Tow’s lawyers this weekend- letter basically says my posts on Facebook and change.org site is defamation against Crow Tow-  letter states Crow Tow doesn’t engage in “predatory towing” and hasn’t committed crimes against people so my statements about the company are untrue - blah blah blah something along those lines- I think I will have the easier job proving my statements true than they will proving them false so they can proceed with legal action if they prefer.

Speaking of legal actions— need you all to watch for an update later this week, I’m working on Round 2 of our fight and we might all benefit from this one.

As always, SIGN & SHARE the petition if you haven’t already or SHARE again!