Fleets Lash Out at Fees, Practices of Some Towing Companies

November 15, 2000 10:45 AM, EST

A number of trucking companies are fighting back against what they say is the practice by some towing operators of charging excessively high fees and holding freight “hostage” until the bill is paid.

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In New Jersey, a lawyer representing C.C. Eastern, a regional affiliate of Michigan-based less-than-truckload carrier Central Transport International, has charged Roadmasters Towing with fraud in connection with the detention of about 32,000 pounds of freight from a disabled trailer on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1999.

Attorney William A. Feldman, who filed a lawsuit in Passaic County Superior Court in Wayne, N.J., said Roadmasters “misrepresented” the extent of the work necessary to replace one trailer wheel and fix two flat tires.

According to court documents, Roadmasters sent seven trucks to the scene, towed the trailer to a rest area and then loaded its contents into another trailer, which was held in a secure storage area until the bill for $17,350 was paid in full.

For the full story, see the Nov. 13 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.