How to verify a Chicago tow company is legitimate

Start with the right question

People usually ask whether a tow company is licensed. In Illinois the more useful question is what kind of tow this is, because the answer decides whether a licence exists to check at all.

Step 1: work out which of three things happened

• You called them. You chose the company and agreed the price. Your protection here is the quote, in writing, before the truck rolls.
• The city or a village towed it. Inside Chicago the vehicle is at one of four city pounds and the fees are published. In a suburb it is at that village's impound under its own fee. You did not choose, and there is no company licence in play.
• A property owner had it relocated. This is the one Illinois licenses. In Cook, DuPage, Kane, Will and Winnebago counties a private-property tow is a relocation under 625 ILCS 5/18a and may only be performed by a commercial vehicle relocator licensed by the Illinois Commerce Commission.

Step 2: check the relocator against the statute

You do not need a database for this. The statute itself gives you a checklist you can run on the spot.

• Licence number in every advertisement, under 18a-300(6). If they advertise without it, that is a violation on its face.
• Name, address and phone on both sides of the truck in vividly contrasting colour, under the Commission's rules.
• Written authorization from the property owner, their agent, or a law enforcement officer, under 18a-300(7). No authorization, no lawful tow.
• A compliant sign on the property, under 18a-302: at least 24 inches by 36 inches, at least 4 feet off the ground but less than 8, illuminated or reflective, naming the relocator and stating the charge.
• A complete invoice handed to you as a receipt, with the complaint form on the back.
• The governing statutes in writing, including the nearest Commission office in at least 12-point boldface, under 18a-300(13.1).

Step 3: use the city's published rates as a benchmark

This is the one place the Chicago market genuinely works in a consumer's favour. The City of Chicago publishes what it charges: under Municipal Code 9-92-080, $250 to tow a vehicle under 8,000 pounds and $350 at 8,000 pounds or more, with storage at $50 or $100 per day on the same weight split, payable in cash or by major card only, with no checks and no money orders accepted. Those are not private rates and they do not bind a private company, but they tell you what a large public operator charges for the same physical work, which is a useful reference when a number sounds wrong.

One caution, because the city publishes two sets. Its Winter Snow Parking Restrictions page states that parking-ban violators face a minimum $150 towing fee, a $60 ticket and a storage fee of $25 per day. Both figures come from the City of Chicago. Check which situation you are actually in before you argue about a number.

Step 4: check the equipment against the job

The single most common real-world problem is not a fraudulent company, it is the wrong truck. All-wheel drive vehicles, every electric vehicle, lowered cars and anything non-rolling need a flatbed, and a wheel lift on those causes damage that costs far more than the tow. If a wheel-lift truck arrives for an electric vehicle, that is the moment to stop and ask.

Step 5: know where to complain

Body	Contact	What it handles
City of Chicago 311	311, or findyourvehicle.cityofchicago.org	Locating a towed or relocated vehicle, and reporting an abandoned one
Bureau of Traffic Services	312.746.4954, Monday to Friday 7am to 3pm	Questions about a city tow, the auto pounds, and the one 15-day extension under 9-92-100(a)
Illinois Commerce Commission	9511 W. Harrison Street, Des Plaines, Illinois 60016, (847) 294-4326	Private-property relocation complaints, and relocator licensing
Your village police department	Varies	A suburban impound, its administrative fee, and the hearing process under 625 ILCS 5/11-208.7

If something has already gone wrong

1. Keep the invoice. For a relocation it is both your receipt and your complaint form.
2. Write down times. If you could not reach the relocator by phone for a full hour from your first attempt, 18a-300(15) says all fees for towing, storage or otherwise are to be waived, and your call log is the evidence.
3. Use the hearing. For a municipal impound, state law requires notice within 10 days and an initial hearing convened no later than 45 days after that notice is mailed, with administrative fees refunded if the hearing officer finds the vehicle was stolen or hijacked when it was impounded.
4. File with the right body. A relocation complaint goes to the Illinois Commerce Commission. A municipal impound dispute goes through that municipality's administrative hearing process. Sending either one to the wrong place costs weeks.