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Of Car Wrecks and Con Men
13 years ago
So last week I was in my first car wreck. I was driving on the highway on my way to work, when I suddenly I feel the rear end of my car drop and the whole thing starts to shudder, accompanied by a horrible grinding sound. I look in the mirror and I can see my rear left tire just bouncing away. My vehicle starts swerving around, and I wrestle with the steering wheel, trying to keep my car in my lane, but I lose control. I start to spin, veering to the left, and my front end crashes into the dirt embankment that divides the two sides of the highway. I continue to spin, feeling the rear end hit the embankment as well. Eventually my car grinds to a halt, blocking two lanes of traffic.
Needless to say the experience was horrifying.
Thankfully I didn't hit anyone else, and since I hit a dirt embankment instead of guardrails or concrete barricades, I didn't cause any damage to state property, so the officer who arrived on the scene didn't have to file a report. I myself was unhurt except for a pulled muscle in my neck, which has since healed.
As for my car, well it's seen better days. The rear left tire is gone (nobody could find where it went), the front left tire is wrecked, my right headlight is broken and the right side of my car is all banged up, front and back. I only had one spare tire, so I couldn't drive it anywhere. The officer called a tow truck to come pick me up. Enter the antagonist in this tale: Action Towing.
The driver himself was friendly and helpful. I hold no animosity towards him. As he loads my car onto his truck, he tells me that this is going to cost $10 per mile, with the first five miles free due to my AAA membership. He goes on to say that my insurance company might even cover the towing if I have the proper coverage. So he drives me and my car seventeen miles to the tow yard, which I have since come to learn is a veritable hell on earth for cars. A vehicle purgatory. The driver drops me off at the office building and tells me to go inside, and they'll give me the prerequisite paperwork, so I go in.
There's two people off in the back of the area behind the counter having a conversation, laughing about something, while a third sits in the waiting area, watching something on the little TV they have set up in there. I'm standing there for fifteen minutes before they acknowledge my presence. The man laying on the waiting couch rolls over to face me and says rather rudely, "You need something?" I explain the situation the best I can, still rattled from the car crash I was in, and they tell me that the truck driver was mistaken, that there was no paperwork or anything else I need to worry about. This struck me as odd, so I press on, asking "Are you sure?" and stuff like that. They tell me not to worry about it and send me on my way.
So I wait to hear back from my insurance company, and they inform me that I do not have the proper coverage to cover the damages or the towing expense. I then get back in touch with Action Towing, to get a recommendation for a mechanic for my vehicle, and to talk about payment for the towing cost, since my insurance company won't be covering it.
That's when I get hit with the bombshell.
They inform me that the cost for towing was going to be $240, twice of what I thought I would be paying ($170 for the seventeen miles, but the five mile reduction from my AAA membership would bring that down to $120), and then they start bringing up all these additional fees that I was not told about on the day I left my car there. I'm being charged an additional $70 for something that the girl on the phone couldn't properly explain, and a $75 a day storage fee for leaving my car there. (Which stands at $525 at the time I'm writing this journal.) I start by asking why the towing charge is so much, what about my AAA reduction, and she tells me that she'll have to get a supervisor to speak with me, asks for my number, and says she'll call me back shortly. Time goes by and I get no call. I then realized that their office closes early on the weekend. Which means I'll have to call back tomorrow, while the storage fees rack up.
Aside from the towing fee, which they're charging me double for by my calculations, none of this was even brought up the day I arrived, so I'm fairly certain I'm getting ripped off here. Nothing like this has happened to me before, and I'm at a loss for what to do. If anyone has any legal knowledge about this sort of thing, I could really use some guidance right now.
Needless to say the experience was horrifying.
Thankfully I didn't hit anyone else, and since I hit a dirt embankment instead of guardrails or concrete barricades, I didn't cause any damage to state property, so the officer who arrived on the scene didn't have to file a report. I myself was unhurt except for a pulled muscle in my neck, which has since healed.
As for my car, well it's seen better days. The rear left tire is gone (nobody could find where it went), the front left tire is wrecked, my right headlight is broken and the right side of my car is all banged up, front and back. I only had one spare tire, so I couldn't drive it anywhere. The officer called a tow truck to come pick me up. Enter the antagonist in this tale: Action Towing.
The driver himself was friendly and helpful. I hold no animosity towards him. As he loads my car onto his truck, he tells me that this is going to cost $10 per mile, with the first five miles free due to my AAA membership. He goes on to say that my insurance company might even cover the towing if I have the proper coverage. So he drives me and my car seventeen miles to the tow yard, which I have since come to learn is a veritable hell on earth for cars. A vehicle purgatory. The driver drops me off at the office building and tells me to go inside, and they'll give me the prerequisite paperwork, so I go in.
There's two people off in the back of the area behind the counter having a conversation, laughing about something, while a third sits in the waiting area, watching something on the little TV they have set up in there. I'm standing there for fifteen minutes before they acknowledge my presence. The man laying on the waiting couch rolls over to face me and says rather rudely, "You need something?" I explain the situation the best I can, still rattled from the car crash I was in, and they tell me that the truck driver was mistaken, that there was no paperwork or anything else I need to worry about. This struck me as odd, so I press on, asking "Are you sure?" and stuff like that. They tell me not to worry about it and send me on my way.
So I wait to hear back from my insurance company, and they inform me that I do not have the proper coverage to cover the damages or the towing expense. I then get back in touch with Action Towing, to get a recommendation for a mechanic for my vehicle, and to talk about payment for the towing cost, since my insurance company won't be covering it.
That's when I get hit with the bombshell.
They inform me that the cost for towing was going to be $240, twice of what I thought I would be paying ($170 for the seventeen miles, but the five mile reduction from my AAA membership would bring that down to $120), and then they start bringing up all these additional fees that I was not told about on the day I left my car there. I'm being charged an additional $70 for something that the girl on the phone couldn't properly explain, and a $75 a day storage fee for leaving my car there. (Which stands at $525 at the time I'm writing this journal.) I start by asking why the towing charge is so much, what about my AAA reduction, and she tells me that she'll have to get a supervisor to speak with me, asks for my number, and says she'll call me back shortly. Time goes by and I get no call. I then realized that their office closes early on the weekend. Which means I'll have to call back tomorrow, while the storage fees rack up.
Aside from the towing fee, which they're charging me double for by my calculations, none of this was even brought up the day I arrived, so I'm fairly certain I'm getting ripped off here. Nothing like this has happened to me before, and I'm at a loss for what to do. If anyone has any legal knowledge about this sort of thing, I could really use some guidance right now.
---
Towing companies make a killing off of "hidden fees", because it's never as simple as "hey, tow my shit here" and pay (x) amount of dollars. It's almost always a "hook up" or "loading" fee, then mileage rate, and heaven forbid if they store it at their facility cos then you've got storage fees and the shit is fucking scandalous!
I've been towed twice, and it's fucking ridiculous! I had an accident back in 2006 where I was Tboned and my truck totaled, there was a $35 "hook up"/"loading" fee, then whatever the hauling rate was at the time, and a $75 per day storage fee at their lot.
Then I was towed away again two years later in my old Chevelle for an insurance violation, I was lucky enough that the officer allowed me to have my car towed home rather than impounded; but it still turned out to be a $75 tow for two miles.
For future reference, if at all possible; shop around your local towing companies and get their rates and estimates so if you're ever in a situation like this again you can choose which company you want to tow you, where and know how much it'll cost. Also, if at all possible; never let them tow you to their lot. Take your car home, ask a friend or family member if you could tow a car there. Cos there is always a storage fee, and companies like that specifically charge you an arm and a leg for storage, in hopes that they can put a lean on the car and sell it for whatever parts they can salvage or scrap for extra cash.
Plus, it doesn't hurt to have a friend with a truck, trailer and tools.
*hugs*