NC attorney general sues Charlotte company in first price-gouging case of pandemic
In North Carolina’s first price-gouging lawsuit of the pandemic, Attorney General Josh Stein has sued a Charlotte towing company over “predatory” booting and towing practices.
The suit against A-1 Towing Solutions is the first since Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency on March 10 and the price-gouging law went into effect.
A Wake County judge issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday afternoon that prevents the company from doing business in th state until a May 13 court hearing.
The suit claims the company charged drivers up to $4,400 to release their vehicles.
“As North Carolinians were waiting on critical supplies to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, these defendants were exploiting the situation for their own profit,” Stein said in a statement. “Any would-be price gouger should take note – my office will hold you accountable for harming people in this time of crisis.”
Neither A-1 Towing Solutions nor its owner, David Satterfield, could be reached. Their listed number was disconnected.
Specifically, the suit accuses the company and its owner of “improper and predatory booting or towing of trucks that were deployed for delivering food, water or needed medical supplies during a time of crisis notwithstanding that the trucks’ drivers had obtained the express permission of he property owners … to park their rigs.”
The suit cited four examples of the alleged price gouging.
In one, a driver named DemetriusWingo had parked his tractor trailer in the lot of the Home Depot on Albemarle Road, where he said store officials had given him permission. On March 30, he was scheduled to deliver a cargo of water to the Harris Teeter in Indian Trail. When he showed up that morning, the truck was gone.
For the first time, he told authorities, he saw signs that said parked vehicles were subject to towing, and gave the company’s address and phone.
The signs also mentioned DMV fees of up to $1,000 and a 20% credit card fee. In the suit, Stein called that “another pretext for defendants to impose additional excessive charges for releasing vehicles.”
When he called the towing company, the suit says, he was told he would have to pay $2,000 to release the cab and $2,000 to release the trailer, even though they were attached. The suit says that’s four times the market rate.
The incident forced the driver to cancel the delivery of water.
“As a result of A1 Towing Solutions and Satterfield’s actions, drivers were delayed in delivering critical supplies needed in North Carolina and other states to respond to the pandemic,” Stein’s office said in a release.
The suit asks for a temporary restraining order against the business and restitution to the truck owners and their companies.
Stein’s office said consumers have filed 1,763 complaints related to price gouging.
