HAPPY VALLEY, Ore. — An act of holiday kindness was nearly spoiled when a tow truck company hooked up a truck involved in a "Secret Santa" delivery for a family at a low-income apartment complex in Happy Valley.
The case, and the reaction from residents, highlights towing practices in Oregon — as the company involved is currently being sued by the Oregon Attorney General for persistent illegal towing and "predatory" practices.
Retriever Towing manages towing at the Easton Ridge Section 42 apartment complex near Clackamas Town Center.
Last week, Suzanne Rosenberg, her husband and three staff members of Rosenburg's company showed up with a special delivery of 93 presents for a mother, Angie Causey, her 9-year-old daughter Faith, and her 6-week-old son Zacari.
Rosenberg said members of her company, Community Compounding Pharmacy, connected through the nonprofit Christmas Family Adoption Foundation to help a family in need this holiday season.
Causey said she could barely believe the surprise, which included many toys, a bed for her daughter and a bassinet for her newborn boy.
"Every time they came in the door, I was in more and more shock," Causey said.
While delivering the presents, Rosenberg said she noticed people taking photos of their cars, parked outside of Causey's apartment in a mostly-empty parking lot.
After finding out they worked for Retriever Towing, Causey said she offered to quickly move her car but asked for more time for her husband who was inside building a bed for Faith.
"I asked the tow truck driver if it was okay if (my husband) leaves his car there for about 15 minutes, and he said, 'Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem,'" Rosenberg said. "I got into my car and before I could lift up my head, he had the car lifted."
Rosenberg and residents at Easton Ridge said a big scene followed. Rosenberg complained, although she admitted they were parked in numbered spots that are not designated for visitors. Clackamas County deputies were called, and other residents of the complex came out to protest, with one even attempting to block the tow truck driver from driving away.
In the end, Rosenberg agreed to pay a hook-up fee to avoid a tow, one of the options available due to Oregon's 2017 towing reforms.
"They'll lift the car and once they lift it you have to pay the fee," Rosenberg said. "So, we ended up having to pay $250 just to get the car released while we were delivering the gifts."
Causey said she felt upset and embarrassed.
"It definitely ruined the moment for a little bit, and it took so long, I felt so bad," she said. "But they're so sweet and they still came and finished and help build the bed."
While "Santa" didn’t end up getting towed, the situation sparked a fire in Easton Ridge residents.
"They prey on us — they come here, and they look for any and every reason they can tow us," said Suzanne Kukoricza, who's lived in the complex for about three years.
Between the two cars she's owned over that time period, Kukoricza said she's been towed 19 times. Other residents also shared stories of numerous tows with KGW.
"It’s thousands of dollars, like it’s ridiculous," Kukoricza said. "First of all, this is a Section 42 apartment building — like, you can only make so much to live here. When I say predatory, if that's not predatory I don't know what is."
Kukoricza said cars are towed for any number of reasons, including:
- If the car is backed in to a parking spot
- If the car is in a wrong numbered or assigned spot
- If the parking sticker isn't visible, in the wrong location, has fallen off, or appears "tampered with"
- If the car hasn't been moved in 3 days
Causey told her surprise gift-deliverers that she has her own horror story.
"I actually live here, and I've been towed (out of) my own parking spot — I've had to pay 400-and-something dollars to get my car out of somewhere that I live," she said, explaining that she was not reimbursed.
In January, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum sued Retriever Towing for illegal tows, saying it refuses to comply with 2017 Oregon reforms to end predatory towing practices.
For one, towing companies in Oregon must get signed authorization from property owners to tow a car. The lawsuit says Retriever Towing has "failed to obtain signed authorization from the parking facility’s owner or its agent each time it tows a vehicle" since 2018.
It's unclear if Easton Ridge property management provided any authorization for a tow during the gift delivery, or if management has authorized tows in the past. The front office was closed when KGW visited and has yet to return phone calls.
Related to the lawsuit, Rosenblum told KGW, in part: "Retriever told us it was reforming its business practice, but it never did. We hope this lawsuit will send a message to all towing companies around the state that they’ll be held accountable for violating the law."
The original complaint in the lawsuit states that Retriever Towing is responsible for 25% of all towing complaints that the Department of Justice has received over the last 20 years.
Retriever Towing told KGW it does not comment on individual towing cases and does not have a comment on the ongoing lawsuit, which is set for trial in late 2024.
Causey said, thankfully, the opening of the gifts smoothed everything over for her family.
“Everyone was happy, and you know, not all holidays are happy for everybody — and in this one, I can definitely say it was," she said. "They almost snatched that moment by, you know, towing them and causing all that drama, but we turned it back around and finished the day off well."
The experience, however, left an impression on Rosenberg.
“When I left here, I had tears in my eyes," she said. "Not because of what happened to me, but because this is a low-income housing complex and these people are coming around doing this to people who can't afford it at all, and it can be devastating."
As of December 16, the Christmas Family Adoption Foundation still had 76 families left on its list for gifts this season, according to Rosenberg and her staff. The nonprofit also accepts monetary donations.
The Oregon Department of Justice says if anyone has questions about towing or wants to notify the DOJ about an individual, company or agency, to contact the the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline by completing a Consumer Complaint Form or calling 1-877-877-9392.