One of the functions of auto wreckers is to provide towing services. I have had a pickup, a car, another car, a motorcycle and a snowmobile picked up by this company, all at the direction of the police. In one case I didn't have current insurance on my pickup, was able to deal directly with Harry, and he offered a "better" price for cash, still 125 dollars to tow about 12km. In the case of one car the Bashaw RCMP did not ever contact me to let me know it had been towed. I had traded it for work performed and the contractor took it with my expired license plate without my permission. He informed me later that he had made a deal with Kelvin by using leverage regarding Kelvins illegal drug habit. As often happens when dealing with users that deal still led to the vehicle being referred to the abandoned vehicle program and me just being informed I owe Alix Auto Wreckers 155 for something I never authorized. On February 18 my BMW ran out of gas in my hometown of Mirror. With the help of a friend we parked the vehicle on the side of the street, well off the roadway. When I went to retrieve it next morning it was gone. I, of course, reported it stolen. Once again never a response front the Bashaw RCMP until I received notice, on March 4 in the mail it had been towed for being illegally parked and abandoned. Of course it was neither illegally parked nor abandoned but once again Kelvin, in whatever drug induced state he might have been, convinced a rookie cop to let him tow it anyway. The thinking was likely that a BMW owner will just come pick it up and pay with a smile. Only I am on pension, used my pension backpay to buy a more economical car, and had neither money nor inclination to pay the extortion fee. Kelvin had to know the vehicle was legally parked yet he took advantage of a chance to put money in his pocket at the expense of a Senior citizen. I have since learned that there is a good chance he also lifted the license plate off that car, again typical of someone needing drug money. I have no idea which driver was involved in effectively stealing my motorcycle, but I sense Kelvins hand in that as well. Again a rookie cop. Again the motorcycle was not parked illegally. The charge for towing it about 15km, and again I have seen no written statement, was over 300 dollars. The storage fee, set by Alix Auto Wreckers without my input, was 40 dollars per day. In the end the individual who chose to retrieve it for me paid another extortion fee of nearly 800 dollars. The bike was only there for 10 days. My snowmobile was stolen from my garage without my knowledge and somehow ended up at, you guessed it, Alix Auto Wreckers. Never a word from the Bashaw RCMP on that one either although I am the last registered owner.
I am posting this as a warning to all. Alix Auto Wreckers, whether with knowledge or through ignorance of the situation, uses a known illegal drug user as a tow truck driver. They will assist the local police in effectively stealing your vehicle for their gain. They will set fees for their work which are way beyond reason. Do we really want a business with that sort of ethics being used by our local RCMP when there are ethical companies in the area who actually have their drivers drug tested rabdomly. At the very least Alix Auto Wreckers ought to be required to submit random driver drug rests. Do you want someone towing your expensive vehicle who is under the influence of illegal drugs?