Greer Council Permanently Suspends Upstate Wrecker Service

A Spartanburg-based tow service was permanently suspended by Greer City Council from operating as part of the city's wrecker rotation.

In a 6-1 vote during the regular council meeting, Upstate Wrecker Service was removed from a list of 16 area tow services called by police to remove vehicles involved in wrecks, seized in police investigations or deemed illegally parked. Mayor Rick Danner voted no.

Prior to the meeting, a 25-minute public hearing was held to review the company's suspension and to hear from the owner of the wrecker service and Greer Police Department.

Brad Turner, owner of Upstate Wrecker Service, asked council not to remove his business from the service list for what he says was a mistake.

"I've served on that rotation list for seven years straight without having any problems," Turner said. "I feel like I did my suspension. I sent a letter in to the police department. I offered to refund any money, but I've yet to hear anything back from the customer... It's not something that would happen again."

Turner said he's a young man with a small business and he's asking for the council's consideration.

Greer police said that Upstate Wrecker Service was suspended April 1, due to complaints from customers that the company did not adhere to the city's policy on towing fees and had charged more for towing, storage and mileage. The suspension ended April 15.

Lt. Matt Hamby, speaking on behalf of Greer Police Department, asked council to suspend the wrecker service permanently because he doesn't feel the company will honor the guidelines set forth in the city ordinance.

"I don't believe that we trust that this will be managed properly with handling the city ordinance," Hamby told council members.

Hamby said that in the case of a single-vehicle accident, tow driver could not charge more than $200. Storage fees per the ordinance must be $20 a day.

Hamby provided four examples of customer bills, detailing the charges from Upstate Wrecker Service in excess of $200.

By Hamby's calculations, one customer was overcharged by $307. He found a second had been overcharged by $132. He checked with two other people who had used their tow service and found that they too had been overcharged by $294 and $655, respectively.

In all four instances, Hamby said the vehicle owners also had to track down their vehicles to either claim personal property or to have it repaired. In order to be a part of the city's tow list, operators of wrecker services must have a storage facility within Greer's city limits. In all four cases, the vehicles had been towed outside the city limits and were found in Wellford and also in Lyman.

Hamby said that Upstate Wrecker Service also had been removed from the South Carolina Highway Patrol's list for similar practices.

Chief Dan Reynolds said that the department is considering revising the current guidelines outlined in the city ordinance. But he said the police department needs to be able to trust the providers of tow services to follow the city's ordinance.

Councilman Wryley Bettis asked if customers were informed of the charges permitted by the city's ordinance while at the accident scene and prior to a vehicle being towed. Reynolds said that had not been the department's policy, but that he thought that was a good suggestion.