KC business owner stops illegal tow linked to company facing $7.1 million judgement

Yahoo

09-07-2025

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A new video obtained by FOX4 shows a quick-thinking Kansas City business owner stepping in to stop what he says was an illegal tow in progress.
He potentially saved a customer from becoming the latest victim of predatory towing.
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FOX4 has spent months investigating this growing issue and has uncovered how questionable towing practices have cost metro drivers thousands of dollars.
This latest incident involves a company FOX4 first reported on earlier this year: Haney's Trucking and Tow, the same company now facing a $7.1 million judgment tied to predatory towing.
In the video recorded by the business owner and shared with FOX4, the tow truck driver can be heard acknowledging practices that appear to violate Missouri state law.
'To see people violating state law – the same law I was expected to follow,' the man who recorded the video said.
Under Missouri law, a tow is illegal unless the property owner or a property manager—someone legally representing the property—is present on site.
According to the video, the tow truck driver had no such representative with him.
'I know what they usually do is they already have signed forms,' the driver says in the video.
The man who filmed the incident asked to remain anonymous, citing concerns about retaliation from the tow company.
He told FOX4 he's long been aware of how predatory towing impacts the community, and says this video is 'Exhibit A.'
He runs a business restoring and servicing classic cars. It was during a typical workday that Haney's Tow arrived and attempted to remove one of his customer's vehicles until he intervened.
'To see another company with such blatant disregard for the law was just disrespectful,' he added.
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When asked on-site why the tow was being carried out without the legally required property representative present, the driver responded:
'I just follow what my bosses say.'
FOX4 reached out to Haney's for comment on this incident, but has not received a response as of the time this article was published.
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