Towing rip off
 

Got into an accident yesterday in Ballard, with my 72 Malibu. Had the car for the last 35 years. It was a t bone accident and I was the bone. Car is in rough shape and had to be towed home. Insurance is going to cover things, so I guess I was lucky. I wanted to give a shout out to Big D Towing who have been my tow guys for years. When I called them for a tow and explained the car had been in an accident, They doubled the price. I explained that the car was safe on a parking lot and not in pieces on the street. They told me that didn't matter, they were going to charge the extra anyway. Never paid over 150 for a tow, regardless of what it was. Big D wanted 300 bucks to drop the car. The accident happened 3 miles from my house and they had a truck in the area. We all use tow trucks at some point, so I wanted to let anyone interested know what happened. Big D also bought Road 1 towing so beware. Anyone had a similar experience.? I have never heard of up charging because of an accident. Have you.? Just thankful it wasn't the Vette.

Sorry to hear about your Malibu.

I'm always super paranoid whenever I need a tow because there are so many stories about tow companies jerking customers around in so many ways.

Interesting comment, and perhaps useful to readers of this forum. At first reading your post I almost felt as if they were going to charge some insurance company because your car was insured. Then, again, in this modern era of Law Firms and ambulance chasers on advertising on TV, who knows. Would you be good enough to follow up and find out what the increases in price is all about? . I have AAA and thus far haven't had to use it. Not sure how I'd feel about having them double the price over the phone.

Admittedly, I don't know much about this sort of thing, nor am I a lawyer (I promised my mother I'd become a Jet Pilot or a surgeon...) but it might be helpful to understand who does what for how much in the towing business.

Something's missing here, possibly?.

Sorry to hear about the accident

Sorry to hear about your accident.
At one time or another over the past 15 years I've had both vettes flat bedded home. Never had a bad experience .... other than having to wait several hours because I insisted on a flatbed. I've always used AAA and found their services well worth it.

I would be very interested in why they up-charged just because the car was involved in an accident.

A data point for those who haven't the opportunity to make use of insurance-covered towing charges.

I blew out two tires on one of my newer cars. The car was covered by both the "manufacturers Roadside Assistance" plan and I also had coverage by AAA (or maybe it was AARP?).

In any event one of the commercial carriers would't tow it to the dealer from which j I bought the car, but, rather the closest authorized dealer in the area.. Another had something like a 200-mile limit, given the coverage I had. The Roadside assistance that was sitll in effect towed it - flat bedded it - to my dealer of choice.

There are of course, some variables to be considered, but I suggest, especially if you have an independent insurance policy, Roadside
Assistance or something else that might have other restrictions. I wouldalso Echo Mark's question about why the upcharge in your situation.

Point being, if you do not know what, if any, restrictions you have in the policy you have, please read it carefully to understand any limitations on your covered cars.

I have a family member who is an insurance adjuster. He spent a lot of time dealing with claims involving invoicing from tow truck / body shops. The stories are unbelievable about the rip offs. Your at the side of the road and the police want the road cleared. Next thing you know your car is on a hook and the driver is asking you to sign something. You think its just for the tow. When you go to find your car the next day to arrange for it to go to your shop of choice you are told it is at the shop that the tow truck gets his kickbacks from and to release it they want thousands of dollars because in your confusion the day before you signed a "work order". You will never be able to retrieve your car from a storage yard on a Friday. They don't answer the phone because now the car is stuck in there yard till Monday collecting hundreds of dollars a day in storage fees. On some of the larger accidents involving large trucks they carry fluids like diesel fuel or oils. Even if there were no spills from the truck, they pour some on the ground and then bill extra for hazardous waste clean up. The stories I would here were endless and this fraud is a huge part of why our premiums are so high.

Jeez! It's worse than I thought. Good input though, hope the situation is not widespread.....

That was just a fraction of the stories he told me. It used to make my blood boil listening to them. I'm glad he is in a different area of claims now.

Yikes I was Cruizin Colby one year when my baby did without warning.
Called my insurance, got a flat bed and ride home with my car on the flatbed and me in the cab of the truck.

I signed for the ride and never heard another thing since.
I hope everyone has as reasonable experience as I did. Towed car is not a fun experience!

Scott

[QUOTE=last901;1599297682]Would you be good enough to follow up and find out what the increases in price is all about? .

Thanks for the response guys. Just wanted to make sure others are aware. I still have no idea why the increase for an accident, I was hoping for an answer as well. I spoke to another tow company local and was told their rates are 260$ for accidents. Hourly rate. Thinking I will be looking into AAA soon.

[QUOTE=Gold Dragon;1599336865]You may want to check with AAA to see if their towing service covers towing a car that has been involved in an accident and can't move on its own. Could be that they will only cover towing due to a mechanical breakdown or a roadside service like a flat tire or dead/bad battery.

I've never heard of a customer paying for a tow if he has collision coverage.

That's the same speech my insurance agent provided. I understand where you are coming from though.

Was the car movable/rollable on it's own? That would be the defining factor in my opinion as to the up charge. If you have to drag a car onto the flatbed, that creates more stress on the equipment thus longer term costs on the tow equipment. Unfortunately this can also sometimes create more damage to the car, which the owner has been known to pursue the tow company and finally, if you are expecting your insurance company to be billed for the tow rather than paying when they tow your vehicle... Thus more risk. These reasons are why many companies charge for accident vehicles. ...

There is 2 sides. There is a HUGE amount of competition in the towing business, if you don't like what one company says check around, I am sure another one can and will beat the other companies price. Within reason of course.

Thank you for your response. Both tires on the drivers side were flat. front was punctured by the curb and the rear rim caught his bumper and bent. They brought a traditional tow truck and used dolly wheels on the rear. Nothing fancy. You are right, its a free market society and I have already found another company to work with.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...a971bb537c.jpg