Being A Car Mechanic

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri couple thought their luck had turned when their stolen truck turned up in Kansas. But that good news turned into a nightmare. For the last month they say they've been  dealing with a KCK tow lot that they say turned them into victims once again.

Patricia Loyd said her 1994 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck was taken at about 4 in the morning on December 11. It was an old truck, but it ran well and had a lift on the back that allowed her husband, Kalvin, to travel with his power scooter.

So she was thrilled when she got word two days later from Kansas City, Mo. police that the truck had been recovered in KCK and was at All-Star Tow. So she gave the tow company a call.

“When I asked the guy, ‘Can I just come over there and see it? Well if you see it you may not want to come over there and get it,’” she said.

Loyd said before All-Star would show her the car, they wanted her to pay a $230 tow fee and provide them with the registration, a photo ID and proof of insurance.

“My registration was in my glove compartment of  the vehicle,” she said.

She went to All-Star's tow lot to retrieve it, but she said All-Star wouldn't let her near the car and sent an employee instead, who couldn't find it.

She was unsure she even wanted to pay for a vehicle that, according to a police report, had been stripped. She didn't know what to do, but she knew she at least wanted to find out whether the photos she kept in the car and her husband's chair lift were still there.

“When people steal things , they don't take everything,” she said.

But All-Star wouldn't work with her unless she first paid the tow bill. The Loyds felt they were being victimized all over again, so they called FOX 4 Problem Solvers.

We called KCKPD, since it had ordered All-Star to tow the car. A lawyer with the police department said All-Star was required under its police contract to let the Loyds look at the car.

Plus the Loyds should never have been charged for the tow since  they were victims of a crime. Additionally, the tow lot should not have required proof of insurance on a car that could no longer be driven.

FOX 4 Problem Solvers called All-Star, which denied that it prevented the Loyds from looking at the car and insisted it was following proper procedure to demand proof of insurance and the tow fee. KCK police disagree and told Problem Solvers it would order All-Star to release the truck to the Loyds at no cost. It ended up being a problem solved for a family that just wants what's left of its belongings.