Matt Bramanti points to a KPRC-2 story about how the city’s forced towing program has another black eye:
Two women from different parts of Houston became victims of identity theft and the only common link between the cases was a towing company with the city’s Safe Clear program, the Local 2 Troubleshooters reported Monday.
[snip]
Andrea Anderson broke down along Highway 59 near Collingsworth. A Safe Clear wrecker was dispatched.
“I was hot and sweaty and waiting for a long time,” she said. “I was forced to use the Safe Clear program, where I could have used my warranty tow.”
A wrecker from Unified Auto Works towed Anderson’s car to Humble. She paid the bill with her check card. Several days later, Anderson checked her bank account and found more than $600 worth of unauthorized charges, along with a list of overdraft fees.
Around the time Anderson was trying to figure out who was draining her bank account, a different woman’s car broke down along Interstate 10 near Lockwood. Again, a wrecker from Unified Auto Works was dispatched as part of the Safe Clear program.
The woman talked with the Troubleshooters but asked to remain anonymous. She told them she also paid Unified with her credit card. And soon after, she also got hit with hundreds of dollars in unauthorized charges.
Detectives traced some of those charges to an east Houston apartment and a woman by the name of Cheryl Jackson, a three time convicted thief.
[snip]
There’s a wrinkle though — Jackson doesn’t work for Unified. But her husband, Huey Hamilton, did work for Unified. He was a dispatcher for the wrecker service and he also has a long criminal record for theft and burglary.
There’s more…go read how the city is responding to this. And then, let’s all thank Mayor White for SAFEClear.
