Questionable tows: hundreds of Fort Worth drivers may be eligible for refunds

Drivers in Fort Worth's medical district who were recently towed from the CVS may be eligible for refunds after an I-Team investigation.

People would park at CVS, then walk to a nearby restaurant, unaware that they were being watched by tow truck operators ready to jump into action. As soon as the customers would walk out of sight, the drivers would take photos of the offending vehicle, then back their flatbeds into place and load them up, usually within a couple of minutes.

Jasmine Naranjo was picking up a Chipotle to-go order when she came out to find her SUV being towed. 

"I kept asking him where I needed to pick my car up from," said Naranjo. "And he said, 'Well, if you pay a fee of $139 right now, I'll give you your car back.'"

Fort Worth medical district towing raises questions over drop fees

The I-Team watched the lot over the course of three days. In most of the cases witnessed, the drivers would load up the vehicles but not leave right away. If the driver returned within a few minutes, they could pay a drop fee to get the car back on the spot.

The I-Team found Grant Sanford standing barefoot, offering up all the cash in his wallet. He said he'd come to pick up a sandwich from Cheba Hut when he saw his vehicle up on the flatbed. 

"I just started sprinting," Sanford said. "My flip flops fell off as soon as I started sprinting and I get over here, and I'm like, 'What the hell's happening, man?' and he's just like, 'You can't park over here.'"

State law defines when a vehicle is "fully hooked up"

Under state law, vehicle owners who interrupt a tow are able to get their cars back. Whether you have to pay the drop fee or not depends on whether the vehicle is ready to leave the property. 

According to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, if the car "is not fully hooked up and ready for towing, you can keep it without paying a charge."

When the I-Team asked the TDLR to clarify "fully hooked up," they replied with one line: 

"The intent of the phrase is lifted, secured, and the only thing left is for the tow truck driver to drive off with the vehicle."

We asked Mark Denson with Superior Towing to watch some of our videos. In three of them, he said the drivers should not have been charged a drop fee. 

"The strap is on the ground," he pointed out in one video.

However, Denson also said that "fully hooked up" can be open to interpretation. 

"The problem is, the law is so gray depending on who's looking at it," he said. "If [a driver] is asked, 'Did they have safety lights on?' They may think it's my light bar, not my lights. Do they know what chains are? Do they know what straps are?"

According to Denson, drivers' general lack of knowledge on tow equipment terminology could lead to confusion over the phrase.

The company towing from the CVS is Lone Star Towing. Its CEO, Cody Nicholson, said that if all four tires were off the ground, that qualified as fully hooked up.

CVS says company was not aware of towing operation

But the debate over the drop fee took a back seat once we learned that CVS corporate had no idea towing was even taking place. In an email to the I-Team, a spokesperson said the company had not hired any tow company to monitor the lot at 8th Street.

Nicholson disputed that claim, saying he had a contract with the local CVS manager. He declined to show it or name the manager.

A contract is crucial because the state says that without an agreement in place, towing is not allowed, even if the signs are up. That means everyone who was charged by Lone Star at CVS could qualify for a refund.

Days after that interview, CVS took down the tow warnings at the lot and sent the following email:

"We removed the parking signs because Lone Star Towing did not have authority to install the signs or to tow vehicles from this site. We're working to ensure that, moving forward, parking issues are managed in line with our company policies."

Possible refunds for drivers 

To learn more about your rights regarding towing, click here.

The last time state lawmakers took up the drop fee issue was in 2021. That bill, HB 3143, died in committee a few weeks after it was filed.