Background

Massachusetts residents incur significant costs as a result of public-authority-ordered involuntary tows. To some degree, costs are controlled by statute and Department of Public Utilities (DPU) regulations. However, these regulations still allow tow companies significant discretion to charge fees above the statutory maximum and also unregulated fees (such as administrative fees). And DPU has repeatedly found that tow companies overcharge. ACLUM filed a public records request with DPU to aid us in determining just how much people pay to retrieve their vehicles from storage facilities after involuntary tows. What we found was that in 2017 and 2018, people paid on average $305. We also found that some companies can make upwards of $1,000 per tow.