FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Rodney Qualls was shocked as he left for work one October morning to see his trusty 1999 Dodge pickup truck wasn’t parked in front of his Fort Collins home.
He called 911, reported the truck stolen to local police and continued on to his job as a locomotive engineer.
Five hours later, he got a call from a Thornton Police officer who found his truck abandoned at an intersection.
“They towed it to an impound shop, and then we had to come get it within so many days,” Qualls’ wife Tasha said.
Since Rodney was away on business through Wednesday, they couldn’t pick up the truck until then.
“When I called earlier, before we got there, you know, they just kind of told me the fees and this and that, and then Tasha and I just kind of started doing our homework,” Rodney Qualls said.
That homework dug up a 2023 Colorado state law – HB23-1217. Tasha read an outdated version of the original bill that created a fund to reimburse towing companies for the cost of stolen vehicle tows. The original legislation would have tacked on a small fee to the cost of all tows to pay for it.
When they got to the lot, an employee handed them a $380 bill.
When Tasha showed a manager at the impound lot a copy of the law she thought covered victims’ costs, he told her it didn’t apply. She went out to her car to do more research and e-mailed 9NEWS Consumer Investigator Steve Staeger.
A program to help car theft victims with costs
Steve On Your Side found the bill Tasha was reading had been amended before it passed out of the legislature and the governor signed it. Instead of creating that fund, the bill issued a charge to the legislature to study the issue.
Rep. Meg Froelich (D-Denver), was an original sponsor of the legislation. She said through the amendment process and the ensuing study, the state learned the cost of creating a fund for car theft victims would be too costly.
So instead of creating a fee, the legislature allocated money to the Colorado State Patrol to create a victims' assistance fund for car theft victims.
Consumers can access it at lockdownyourcar.org. That victims’ assistance fund will also pay for other costs associated with car theft, as long as victims provide documentation like police reports, proof of residency and insurance and other documentation.
Tasha and Rodney don’t blame the tow company
The Qualls plan to apply to that program to see if they can get reimbursed for that towing bill and the extra $400 Rodney said he will spend to fix the ignition, door lock and dome light that were broken when the car was stolen.
The couple said they don’t blame the tow company at all for charging for the service.
“That's their job, is to when they get the call to go get that vehicle off the street and safely secure it,” Tasha Qualls said.
“I just don't think it's fair for the victim to have to pay for it.”
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