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I hope everyone has seen the news article that says Polk County has dropped Crow Tow for their contractural towing needs due in part because of this petition.  Please send a note of thanks to the Polk County Supervisors for hearing our complaints and making the switch to a different company. Hopefully the Des Moines City Council will follow their lead!!

If you did read the article you will notice that Randy Crow says the majority of his business is done through private contracts in and around Polk County so we are also going to begin individual petitions for each property location that you tell us about. 

My Story- Around 10 or 12 years ago I was pulled over by the Des Moines Police Department and found out my license was suspended for failing to pay a seatbelt ticket so the DMPD impounded my vehicle using Crow Tow. The next day when I went and paid my impound fees and got my car back, I discovered that my huge CD collection was stolen from my car as well as all of my change. I should have filed a police report but because I technically was suspended I didn't want to risk drawing attention to the fact that I planned on driving the vehicle out so I just accepted the loss. This is the only encounter I had with Crow Tow until Nov 2020 when my daughter called to tell me her car had been impounded while visiting a friend at an apartment complex in Bondurant (Mulberry Point owned by Swift Properties). She first called police believing car was stolen and when she got in touch with Crow Tow they told her they were closed she’d have to call back in the morning. I thought it was crazy that a tow company could tow vehicles off private properties and outside of business hours and deny a person from getting their vehicle returned so I jumped online and researched towing laws. I came across one that said that the parking spaces must be clearly marked and tow drivers took pictures for proof otherwise it was an illegal tow. I called Crow Tow immediately and verified we would have to wait till the next day to get her car. Then I told them my daughter was parked in a spot where she had no idea it was restricted parking and I told Crow Tow that online it said that they should have had to take pictures proving she was illegally parked or it wasn't a valid tow and I could contest it. I asked was this true? The lady said yes it was true and she could show me when I go into the office.  Next day, after I told them I was contesting it until I seen proof that it was a legal tow, they spent a few moments pulling up the pictures (that I knew they didn’t have)  and then she went and got Randy and he  became EXTREMELY confrontational and said "it isn't true that every parking spot has to be marked". And I didn’t believe him cause they told me the opposite over the phone so I demanded that I was contesting the legality of the tow and I needed to know how to do that. He put it off on the property owner or management company.

Below I will include a photo showing you the layout of this specific location and it is without a doubt absolutely predatory towing and is unethical and should be illegal. (you might have to click on the picture to see it all). ***Get This- I told Swift Properties that I would drop my complaint  over the $203 tow fee I had to pay for my daughters car if they would agree to post signs in the unmarked (green) spots and they refused!! 

So please let us know if you have a specific location where you were parked and towed by Crow Tow and became a victim of the crimes they commit or predatory towing and we will help you start an individual petition for that location and post notices for more tenants to sign.