The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has increased non-consensual towing rates by 33% beginning June 1. (Photo by Getty Images) (This photo cannot be republished without a Getty subscription.)
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has increased rates for non-consensual towing services by 33%.
The three-member board of directors decided to increase rates after the Corporation Commission’s transportation division, AAAA Wrecker Service, Inc. and the attorney general’s office agreed that increases were necessary because of inflation, said Matt Skinner, a spokesman for the agency.
The Transportation Division and AAAA Wrecker suggested using the Consumer Price Index (a measure of how prices change over time) in deciding whether to recommend a 33% increase. The increase was “reasonable and in the public interest” to maintain towing services, according to the hearing documents.
The increase will cost consumers $4.99 per mile for 25 miles or less and $4.16 per mile for more than 40 miles. The increases took effect on June 1.
Non-consensual towing occurs when the person in charge of the vehicle does not consent or have knowledge of the towing.
“This is only for when you’ve been in an accident and the officer says, ‘Hey, I’m calling a tow truck to get you out of here.’ That is a non-consensual tow,” Skinner said. ‘You have to take what is given to you [to] You.”
Non-consensual towing also includes the removal of abandoned or illegally parked vehicles.
It is the first increase approved by the Commission since 2012, when lawmakers handed over responsibility for overseeing the sector to commissioners.
Previously, it was the towing industry’s responsibility to collect and present data to support the need for rate increases.
The Transportation Division of the Corporation Commission and AAAA Wrecker argued that the industry has had difficulty collecting the data to demonstrate the need for rate changes and suggested using the Consumer Price Index instead.
The attorney general’s office, which represented consumers, did not oppose the rate increases because of the time since the last increase, Skinner said.
However, it was not in favor of using the consumer price index as the sole indicator.
It advised the industry to start gathering resources so that it could collect data instead of relying on the Index.
The Commission has received 75 towing complaints in 2022, 87 in 2023 and 35 so far this year.
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