OCU claims the average cost of being towed away by a city truck is €100, 30% more than a private one

An OCU study about municipal vehicle removal services in 54 Spanish cities indicates that the average cost of the tow truck is € 100, 30% more expensive than the cost of a private tow truck. There are also notable differences in prices for the same service, from 205 euros in Zaragoza to 36 euros in Zamora. OCU warns that many municipalities, rather than providing a public service to speed up traffic are just looking for a quick way to raise money. The study results are published in number 402 of the OCU Compra Maestra magazine for April 2015.

The OCU study conducted in 54 major cities in Spain compares the cost of having your car towed away by a municipal tow truck and storage for 1 hour. The result indicates that Zaragoza is the city with the most expensive tow trucks followed by San Sebastián, Valencia, Barcelona, ​​Madrid and Seville. In contrast the cheapest cities in the study are Gijón, Guadalajara, Almería, Huelva, Badajoz, Ciudad Real, León, Ávila, Melilla and Zamora, all cities with a cost less than € 70, which is the average price of being towed away by a private tow truck.

For OCU such remarkable differences in prices occur because the law allows each municipality to manage the towing away and storage of vehicles as it sees fit, either through a municipal service or by a private concession. National law also allows each municipality to charge whatever they like, so many town halls see this municipal service as an easy way to increase revenue and charge, in addition to the fine, a fee for storage or for returning as your vehicle is being loaded onto the tow truck, that are often another fine in disguise.

In addition to the fine and removal of the vehicle, you must pay for storage of the vehicle until the owner picks it up. Half of the cities analised charge for storage in municipal sites from the first minute, in the rest the cost of having your car towed includes a few hours of free storage. OCU further alleges that in all cities, vehicle storage is charged hourly or per full day when, since 2006, parking regulations require this to be charged by the minute.
  
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For more information (media): Eva Jimenez Tel .:   91 722 60 61 - ejimenez@ocu.orgwww.ocu.org