Inside Colorado’s Private Property Towing Industry
Melissa Mejía, Zach Neumann, Sam Gilman (The COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project), David Seligman (Towards Justice)
Towing in Colorado is out of control. Over the past two years, our clients have had their vehicles repeatedly towed from the apartment complexes and mobile home parks where they live, often without warning or justification. The most prominent name behind these towing practices is Wyatts Towing, whose blue signs are seen in parking lots across the Front Range.
Wyatts is just a small part of a broader conglomerate of interconnected companies with significant interests across parking management, towing enforcement, and vehicle sales.
Over the past several years, Wyatts’ owners have built a vertically integrated collection of parking and towing companies that allows them to direct when a vehicle may be removed from private property, tow the vehicle from its location, impound the vehicle, and, if payment is not received, sell the vehicle. Worse, these individuals have a prominent voice in rate-setting, regulation, and industry investigations.
Unexpected tows from private property impose enormous hardship on people. Losing a vehicle means missing work, not being able to take kids to school, and often having to pay $600+ in fines and fees to recover a towed vehicle. For the average working family, covering the expense of an unexpected tow means taking on credit card debt, visiting a payday lender, or delaying a rent payment. For families already struggling to make ends meet, a towed vehicle is often a total loss. Like many forms of economic abuse, questionable towing disproportionately impacts people of color and low-income households.
As thousands of Coloradans can attest, you can be towed from private property for almost any reason at any time. Our clients tell us that they have been towed for having dents in their car, for out-of-date registrations that weren’t actually out of date, or for reasons that were never disclosed. Towing a vehicle from private property doesn’t require approval from law enforcement or the consent or notification of the vehicle owner — it often just happens.
Private property towing is a lucrative activity
Towing vehicles from private property is an enormously profitable business, and companies operating in the space are virtually guaranteed to make money due to obscure but favorable provisions under Colorado law. These include:
- Towing rates — set by the State of Colorado — guarantee towing companies significant profits: Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission sets the rates for non-consensual tows from private property using a formula that includes generous cost estimations, a guaranteed profit margin, and adjustments for inflation.
- Towing companies determine who they get to tow: Because of limited regulations, towing companies frequently execute contracts with landlords and property owners that allow them to patrol parking lots, inspect vehicles, and determine, at their sole discretion, who may be removed — earning money on each tow they perform.
- Towing companies can sell cars to pay themselves: Colorado law grants towing companies an ownership interest (also known as a possessory lien) in the vehicles they take, allowing them to sell vehicles when they aren’t paid.
Loose regulation attracts opportunistic investors
The ability to generate guaranteed profits with little regulatory oversight has attracted opportunistic investors to Colorado’s towing industry. Over the past several years, 3T Holdings, a private equity search fund, has taken control of Colorado’s towing industry and developed a powerful voice within its regulatory bodies. Trevor Forbes, Troy Porras, and Tony Porras are all associated with 3T Holdings, and are all participating as owners, controllers, or operators of the various entities involved in this story.
3T Holdings was formed in 2018 by Troy Porras, one of the owners of Wyatts Towing. 3T partner Trevor Forbes is the current CEO of Wyatts and the public face of Colorado’s non-consensual towing industry. Tony Porras is the third 3T partner and a self-described co-founder of Wyatts Towing (Towing Holdings LLC).
3T Holdings has played a central role in the purchase and integration of various towing, parking, vehicle auction, and auto dealership companies in Colorado and Texas. Through its activities and the activities of its partners, 3T sits at every stage of the towing process. Affiliated companies have the power to monitor parking lots, decide when a tow may occur, remove vehicles from properties at their own discretion, impound vehicles, and sell towed vehicles through an auction house and dealership.
Based on publicly available records, companies and brands affiliated with 3T or its partners seemingly include but may not be limited to, 3T Holdings, ParkM, Towing Holdings LLC (which includes Wyatts Towing, Wyatts Towing Northern Colorado, Longhorn Wrecker, Capital Tow, Southwest Auto Tow, Boulder Valley Towing, Klaus Towing, Southwest Auto Tow, Lonestar Towing, Aaliyah’s Towing, and Southwest Auto Storage), Peak Auto Auctions LLC, Cars Direct LLC, and a number of other related organizations.
3T partner and Wyatts Towing CEO Trevor Forbes sits on the regulatory advisory body that guides rate-setting and regulation of the towing industry. This lets him protect 3T Holdings’ broad investments in Colorado’s towing industry by advising state agencies on fair rates for his own services.
The web of organizations affiliated with 3T is complex and overlapping, but we attempt to explain how it operates below using corporate incorporation documents, address searches, and other public records.
ParkM: parking lot surveillance and control
ParkM Holdings LLC was formed in 2018 by Troy Porras and uses the same address as 3T Holdings in its articles of organization. As far as we can tell, ParkM is owned or controlled by 3T or its partners.
ParkM offers landlords parking lot management services. As ParkM describes on their website, their parking management “application allows your residents to purchase resident and guest parking permits which are monitored and managed by your enforcement company.” In promotional materials, ParkM indicates that using their application is free and can create additional revenue streams for residential landlords through sticker and permit fees.
ParkM also helps property owners manage parking enforcement, offering to help “find the best company from [their] preferred vendors.” Their website does not indicate any affiliation with the 3T collection of companies or disclose that their owners are tied to a range of towing companies in Colorado.
Our clients report that after ParkM’s management system is implemented, there are more tows for questionable or incredibly minor infractions like having a rusty or dented vehicle, not having a permit (even when the badge is clearly displayed), or for reasons that are never disclosed. Through parking lot management, 3T gets unfettered access to thousands of vehicles that it can potentially tow.
Wyatts Towing (Towing Holdings LLC): parking lot enforcement
3T and its partners also control Towing Holdings LLC, the legal name for Wyatts Towing and a number of other towing brands operating in Colorado. Towing Holdings LLC was formed by Troy Porras in 2018 and uses the same address in its articles of incorporation as ParkM and 3T Holdings. Its CEO is Trevor Forbes, a partner at 3T Holdings. Tony Porras, also a 3T partner, describes himself as the company’s co-founder.
Towing Holdings LLC controls several existing and legacy towing brands, including: Wyatts Towing, Wyatts Towing Northern Colorado, Longhorn Wrecker, Capital Tow, Southwest Auto Tow, Boulder Valley Towing, Klaus Towing, Southwest Auto Tow, Lonestar Towing, Aaliyah’s Towing, and Southwest Auto Storage.
These brands have come to Towing Holdings LLC through an apparent series of search fund acquisitions and are gradually being consolidated under the Wyatts banner. In other words, 3T appears to be purchasing and integrating many of Colorado’s small, independent towing companies.
Wyatts Towing and its associated brands perform thousands of non-consensual tows from private property each year. The company is often cited as a bad actor in the industry. As the Denver Post reported last year, “A quarter of all towing complaints in Colorado are against one company: Wyatts.” Despite receiving numerous complaints, the business model is enormously profitable. According to Trevor Forbes, his organization generates $160,000 in annual revenue from a single tow truck.
Towing services from Wyatts are 100% free to property owners. A standard contract between Wyatts and property owners gives Wyatts’ employees the power to patrol properties in search of pre-established violations and make determinations about who should be towed. Tow operators function as the judge and jury for residents when it comes to why and whether their vehicle should be forcibly towed away from their home.
Coloradans, including our clients, report that Wyatts’ tows are often questionable and that the company’s drivers seem more motivated by meeting alleged quotas or performance goals than enforcing reasonable rules. Regardless of motivations, contracts that give Wyatts the authority to patrol parking lots and make determinations about whether a vehicle is seized represent a major conflict of interest.
Once Wyatts seizes a vehicle, they transport it to one of their impound yards in the Denver Metro Area. Residents must pay a $211.11 impound fee, a mileage charge of $3.80 per mile (up to 12 miles), a storage fee of $40.56 per day, a possible after hours pick-up fee of $89.24, and $150 notification fee after two days.
Set by Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission, the fees associated with a tow can quickly exceed $600 and may surpass $1,000 in a matter of weeks. Because Wyatts is granted a legal ownership interest in every vehicle they tow from private property (a possessory lien), they can sell vehicles to recover fees and charges if they’re not paid within 30 days.
Peak Auto Auctions LLC: selling towed vehicles
As a result of the enormously high fees that escalate daily, a significant percentage of Coloradans who are towed are unable to make payment.
When an owner can’t afford to reclaim their car, Wyatts sends vehicles to Peak Auto Auctions LLC, another company in the 3T collection of organizations. Peak Auto Auctions LLC was formed by 3T partner Trevor Forbes and lists Wyatts Towing South as its office address in its articles of incorporation. Further, Peak Auto Auctions LLC appears to operate its business from the Wyatts Towing North impound lot.
Over the past 2–3 years, Peak Auctions has disposed of over 10,000 vehicles. Our clients report that these sales often happen at a price point that is dramatically below the resale value of the vehicle. Sometimes auction sales don’t even cover the tow fees, and the vehicle owner still owes money to Wyatts. It’s not clear from publicly available information who is buying these vehicles at auction, for how much, or under what terms. Information related to the number of vehicles sold at auction, the price realized in these sales, and comparable market rates for auctioned vehicles should be disclosed to the public and state regulators immediately.
Cars Direct LLC: selling towed vehicles
Some of the vehicles taken by Towing Holdings LLC / Wyatts Towing are possibly being sold via Cars Direct LLC. Cars Direct was formed by Tony Porras, one of the founders of Towing Holdings LLC / Wyatts Towing, and a partner at 3T Holdings. The articles of incorporation include the address for the Wyatts North impound lot and the PO Box associated with 3T Holdings.
Based on its website and marketing materials, Cars Direct functions as a non-auction, retail seller of vehicles to the public. Like Peak Auto Auctions, the business operates from the Wyatts complex on Brighton Blvd. and even lists the Wyatts impound yard as its location address on its website. Wyatts even has a Cars Direct sign on its fence.
Clients report seeing vehicles that were impounded moved to the Cars Direct part of the impound lot and then sold via Peak Auto Auctions.
The ability to manage parking lot permits, determine who may be towed, remove and impound vehicles, and then sell them to the public gives 3T Holdings and its affiliated companies an enormous amount of control over people’s lives. Despite being deeply integrated and enormously powerful, 3T has faced minimal scrutiny and limited oversight as they’ve continually expanded their interests.
The Colorado Towing Task Force: regulatory power for the towing industry
The Colorado Towing Task Force, situated within the Department of Regulatory Affairs, is “responsible for making comprehensive recommendations to the [Public Utilities Commission] about maximum towing rates for non-consensual tows and advising the [Public Utilities Commission] concerning investigations of overcharges made by towing carriers.” The Public Utilities Commission is Colorado’s regulatory body that sets towing and energy rates.
The newly elected Chair of the Colorado Towing Task Force, and presumably its most powerful voice, is Trevor Forbes, the CEO of Wyatts Towing, a partner at 3T Holdings, and the person who formed Peak Auto Auctions LLC. Forbes even has a State of Colorado email address.
That someone so deeply involved and invested in all parts of Colorado’s towing industry has a prominent, formal voice in regulating the industry creates major risks for consumers. When Forbes advises the PUC on rates, he’s likely thinking of his company’s bottom line. When he offers perspective on PUC investigations into towing, he’s likely concerned about how they will impact 3T Holdings’ companies. At a minimum, there’s a major conflict of interest.
There are fourteen members on the Towing Task Force. Although the Task Force was recently expanded to include community advocates, the commission continues to tilt in the direction of private towers, large corporate landlords, and others who benefit from non consensual tows from private property.
New legislation seeks to curb consumer abuse
Our clients are the ones who pay the price for Colorado’s predatory towing industry. They’re the ones who unexpectedly lose their cars and have to find their way across town to an impound lot. They’re the ones who have to borrow money from a payday lender or take on credit card debt to get their vehicles back. And worst of all, they’re the ones who watch their vehicles sold to pay 3T’s fees.
Colorado can do better. Last week, Representatives Edie Hooton and Naquetta Ricks and Senator Julie Gonzales introduced HB22–1314. This bill is designed to protect residents living in apartment complexes and mobile home parks from the financially devastating impacts an unexpected tow can have on their families. When implemented, the legislation will make it harder for tow companies to deprive people of their vehicles. It represents an important step in bringing bad actors across the industry under control.
Provisions of HB22–1314 include:
- Elimination of the ownership interest (possessory lien) given to towing companies when they remove vehicles from private property
- Requiring authorization from the property owner at least 24 hours before the tow, and the tower cannot act as their own authorizer
- Further codification of inconsistently enforced PUC rules in Colorado state law, with improved enforcement mechanisms and penalties
- Additional oversight by the Attorney General of Colorado to prevent further industry abuse
If you’ve been the victim of an abusive tow in Colorado, your state legislators need to hear about it. Please share your stories here and learn how to get involved in passing these critical consumer protections.
