Towing Fees

[The Hedgehog]

Rolled my truck and needed it to be towed 2 weeks ago. Truck was totaled and landed in a river down a steep timbered embankment. The towing company was there 5 hours getting it out. It was towed 20 miles.

My insurance company told me they were having troubles getting the truck as they were disputing the towing price.

Get this.. nearly $14,000.00.

I called the company and got an invoice that showed close to $13K, but they're charging an $85/day storage fee while sorting that out.

That is one hell of an hourly rate.

Anybody ever heard of anything so preposterous? It almost sounds criminal to me. I do realize it wasn't a standard towing situation.

 

[Nick87]

I don't know the rate but I'm not surprised. I've heard several similar instances. They know they got you over the barrel. Sucks

 

[Addicting]

So you shanked your truck?

 

[375H&H]

You probably could have had Cam Hanes pay YOU so he could get a workout pulling your truck out by muscle from the river. If he doesn’t use his muscles for good, we all know what happens.

 

[Nameless Range]

Good grief. I don’t know much about it, but through the fire department on some of the semi wrecks we’ve been on I have heard that the wrecker rates were upwards of 500 an hour.

Even if two trucks showed up to help you that doesn’t pencil out. Because your truck landed in the river, maybe there is a hazmat/spill component.

 

[The Hedgehog]

 

[rogerthat]

Holy chit! Back in the old days, we would have hooked that damn thing to a tractor and yanked it out for a 30 rack.

 

[mtmuley]

Hazmat. Wonder what that is for. Wish I had a towing business. Hooe your insurance covers it. Kurt. mtmuley

 

[Gellar]

Encountered an old guy 3 weeks ago who got stuck trying to do a 3 point turn about. Had to cut and drag a tree that was across the road to get to him but after that it was an easy pull with the tractor. He didn’t have cash but he gave me a bag of weed and a hand carved pipe in the shape of a bear.

Last winter about 11 o’clock at night the neighbor called and was all sorts of stuck. She needed a pull out of the ditch in about the same spot as the old hippie. She had rode the ditch for about 50 yards and ramped a driveway. I pulled it out and then about another 2 miles to a shed. Her boyfriend gave her a ride home. She left a box of Busch light on the porch.

Last year on thanksgiving day an old guy taking his even older dad for a ride from the nursing home got stuck in the same spot after a tree fell across the road and they tried to back down the road. Once again I had to cut and drag the tree with the tractor and then get them out. It was stuck pretty good and quite a bit of damage had already been done to the car. A van from the nursing home van came and got them both. They never said thank you or returned with a gift.

 

[MtnElk]

that seems outrageous to me. I had a recovery for 5 hours that required a skid steer and it was $2,965. But my vehicle was drivable afterward.

All in all though, seems criminal the bill you got

 

[Addicting]

Most the time when we have had heavy haul out on a wreck near us the Insurance company just totals it and signs it over to the tow company.

 

[MTLabrador]

Doesn’t surprise me, a lot of the tow companies out there, especially the bigger ones, are extremely greedy and will sneak in stuff like extra trucks to rack up the bill when they’re not necessary. Stuff like this, as well as the ridiculous number of people driving around with no insurance and suspended licenses who will hang you out to dry or just leave after they crash into you, is why it’s worth paying for good insurance.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

This was a recovery, not just a tow, so I'm sure that is why it's so high.

 

[geewhiz]

Seams rediculous. Glad you made it out ok as I have to assume you rode it into the creek.

Pics would be entertaining for this offseason crowd.

 

[cgasner1]

So you shanked your truck?

Shanked his bank account

 

[hank4elk]

My AAA card is basicly useless now.

 

[The Hedgehog]

 

[The Hedgehog]

 

[blueridge]

Glad you’re ok, dude.

 

[Dave N]

The 10% admin fee seems bogus.