Casper Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 Oops. http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/30354823/local-man-stuck-with-48000-towing-bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motocat12 Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 In hindsight, a winch would have been a good investment, Buy the tools DIY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gump Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 12 hours? I could of got it out with binder twine, in 12 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2talltim Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 My attorney got stuck in my yard one winter with her prius. Called the tow company they claimed it was going to cost $500 extra because the needed to bring I a special piece of equipment. She was pissed but said ok, they basically showed up with a 1985 chevy pick up with a winch on it..lol. I told her you know you basically just paid for that whole truck right? Tow companies are such scam artist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprocket226 Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 Wow.I would of driven to Massachusetts and pulled him out for half that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zx3vfr Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 And that's why New England sucks. Stupid Hillbillies and even stupidider white trash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 Tow companies are such scam artist. I think that's an unfair characterization. A tow company is providing a service that people need, on an "on-demand" basis, and usually they're rescuing a vehicle that is a large asset to the owner. Yeah, $500 is steep to you or me, because we have more aptitude for self-rescue in a similar scenario. To someone whose resources and knowledge are more limited though, the options are: Wait until spring, spend a lot of hours digging, abandon her vehicle, or pay $500. Paying to make it someone else's problem is highly appealing to a lot of people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 I think $48,000 is excessive, but look at it from the tow company's perspective here - they spent 12 hours (probably with multiple employees, and multiple pieces of equipment that could have been making money elsewhere), and now all they've got to show for a full-day's work is a crappy jeep in impound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 I think $48,000 is excessive, but look at it from the tow company's perspective here - they spent 12 hours (probably with multiple employees, and multiple pieces of equipment that could have been making money elsewhere), and now all they've got to show for a full-day's work is a crappy jeep in impound.Still, $48k? Unless they had 48 employees working on this and they made what, $80 an hour....it doesn't add up. This is price gouging. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motocat12 Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 (edited) $1200/hr supervisor does = ripoff at a lawyer level. 12 hours, it looked like he was right on the edge of a field. I wonder how far they had to drive in. I've watched lots of mudding where another basic 4x4 pulls them out in under an hour.At some point the expert should notify the customer of the possible bill, That point is much before the bill = their yearly salary. I'm guessing they knew they had him buy the balls since he couldn't have a friend trespass more to help and the police were on scene. Edited October 27, 2015 by motocat12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motocat12 Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 "A semi is driven off a rural road and ends up wrapped around trees in a wooded area. A towing company called to the scene billed the semi’s insurer a whopping $21,588 claiming five days of work. "An expert calls this inflatedhttp://www.claimsjournal.com/news/national/2012/05/14/206743.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gump Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 I hope the towing company cannot show invoices like this in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted October 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 "A semi is driven off a rural road and ends up wrapped around trees in a wooded area. A towing company called to the scene billed the semi’s insurer a whopping $21,588 claiming five days of work. "An expert calls this inflatedhttp://www.claimsjournal.com/news/national/2012/05/14/206743.htm A whole freaking semi wrapped around trees cost less than half... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidersDiscount Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 Seems legit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vf1000ride Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 So whats the mural to the entire story; Regardless of who is delving out the punishment, fucking up while doing shit thats illegal sucks. When you get caught red handed and need help saving your ass, it's gonna be painful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted October 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 So whats the mural to the entire story; A Jeep mural? Ok. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vf1000ride Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 If done on land you have approval to be on, sure . Dang autocorrect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 $1200/hr supervisor does = ripoff at a lawyer level. 12 hours, it looked like he was right on the edge of a field. I wonder how far they had to drive in. I've watched lots of mudding where another basic 4x4 pulls them out in under an hour.At some point the expert should notify the customer of the possible bill, That point is much before the bill = their yearly salary. I'm guessing they knew they had him buy the balls since he couldn't have a friend trespass more to help and the police were on scene. I agree that $1200/hr sounds ridiculous. But the police were involved because it was a trespassing incident. I would liken this to the people who call in a bomb threat, and then get a restitution order for all the wasted resources the police and fire departments spend investigating the hoax. I'm assuming the prices are inflated based on the government involvement, not the tow company in particular. That's speculation on my part, but when else has government intervention led to a fair priced result? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scruit Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 Let the towing association calculate what it says is an industry standard bill for the services, and pay that instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alansz400 Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 My first call would be to the IRS to make sure that supervisor is paying income tax on that $1200 a hour he is claiming. The towing company is more then likely paying him $10 a hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Butters Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 LOLOLOLOLOL to any of you devil's advocate dumbshits who are making any sort of argument for a 48k tow bill.... Just no. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anden Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 I received a excessive tow bill once. Wife put her car in a ditch. No biggie right? Wrong. A townie we are a quainted with who is on the volunteer fire department called it in for us. It seems since an emergency vehicle called it in it was a priority call. Hence a weeks worth of wages down the drain. Now I wasn't told in advance the bill was going to be stupid high. Just I got your car give me money and you can have it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scruit Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 (edited) I got my bronco stuck in a construction site after hours one time about 18 years ago testing the 4x4 after doing some work. The tow truck had to drive 1/4 mile into the site, get as close as it dared to the ditch I was stuck in, and hook me up with his winch. It took it 30 mins to reach the site because the driver insisted was walk the path before he drove it, to ensure HE did not get stuck. We found a safe route for him, he pulled my truck out and we both followed the safe route back to the road. My bill was $100, and I was stuck in a ditch just like the Jeep in the story, nosed down at 45deg. No damage done. Edited October 28, 2015 by Scruit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gump Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 I've been stuck a lot in my life. Paid in beers and gratitude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 LOLOLOLOLOL to any of you devil's advocate dumbshits who are making any sort of argument for a 48k tow bill.... Just no. I'm not "arguing for the $48k bill," I'm merely proposing scenarios in which they might be able to rationalize it. $1,200/hr for the supervisor raises a lot of red flags. I have some experience dealing with bureaucracy, and how they calculate costs. I'm not saying I could get to $48,000 with a straight face, but it would not have surprised me to learn that police involvement requires the use of ___________ company with ________ officers supervising and ________ county engineer on site. Then they would bring 10 guys for a job that requires 2 guys, and turn a 2 hour job into a 12-hour job. In the process, they would break some piece of equipment that was either not suited to the job in the first place, or that broke because the operator was using it improperly. Then they'd go get something bigger and blunter, and damage the vehicle in the process of pulling it out. But that's the position you put yourself in when you're trespassing and the police/municipality get to run the show and call the shots for the tow operation. I know that in high school... We got a friend's jeep stuck in a catch-basin of a new development (roads paved, no houses built). It was pretty bad. We got him out with a second jeep and a come-along hand winch. But we were willing to take risks that professionals (especially city employees with a supervisor watching) wouldn't have been allowed to take. I think that would have been a few grand to extract Cory's jeep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.