Dishonest Tow Truck Drivers
How to protect yourself from being Scammed!
Dishonest Tow Truck Drivers
Dishonest tow operators are common and everywhere you go… you’d better know how to spot them before you become a victim. I feel especially close to this topic. Before owning and operating a towing company, I was a victim of these scams on two occasions. Not to mention the individual I bought All Roadside from had a colorful past and questionable ethics.
Types of Dishonesty
What kinds of dishonesty runs in the tow industry:
- Middlemen Farming Out Calls To Companies
- Over Billing / Under Billing
- Damage To Your Vehicle
The bulk of towing customers find tow providers via the internet or motor clubs/insurance companies. Both groups can be scammed so here’s a few things to watch out for.
The Middleman
For those of you that found us online. That’s where the fraud starts. Tow company websites come in two flavors. Legitimate ones. That offer lots of content, branding (company logos, slogans, color schemes), lots of pictures of our trucks (with our logos, our phone numbers, etc.), and near the bottom of each page you’ll find our locations. These are physical addresses that have property attached to them. It’s not a P.O. Box or a Suite number. Check out https://allroadsidetowing.com for a good example of a towing website.
The non-legitimate dirty tow operators websites are attached to a middleman or a broker. These guys don’t own trucks or tow companies. Instead, they farm calls to smaller companies, without insurance or permits, dishonest tow companies, etc. They sell your call or click to another company. Calls are sold for ~$25 while clicks ~$15. The companies that buy those calls are running outdated equipment, don’t carry insurance minimums, and for some reason don’t advertise their own company.
The other middleman is the broker that will take your card over the phone, charge you a large sum, then try to hire a tow company at a discount. Hopefully they have someone lined up, but worst-case scenario, is their looking for someone after they have your money.
I had a customer call me the other day who had been waiting 2 hours for dishonest tow truck drivers. He had paid the company $500 upfront and had been trying to call them back. Of course, nobody was answering the phone.
Don’t pay upfront. Don’t pay until the driver arrives. Sometimes we’ll charge an upfront fee if your vehicle is going to require a specific truck, are located outside of our service area, schedule a time that is normally very busy, etc. But this is usually $50-$65.
Some companies will absolutely insist on credit cards before dispatching drivers. We normally do. But if you don’t feel confident with the person on the other side of the phone, tell them you’re a cash customer and don’t have a card to give.
Dispatchers should be able to give you an accurate quote over the phone. If you want an accurate quote, you need to provide an accurate description of what’s wrong with your vehicle. I hate when I give someone a quote for a tire change and it turns out to be four flat tires, or they don’t have a spare. Most of us that dispatch calls are savvy to customers trying to mislead us.
Over Billing & Under Billing
This is particularly difficult to spot and because “bad tow truck drivers” are notorious for over billing you or charging for things that are frivolous in nature. Most of the time they start with a ridiculous low quote, to get you hooked. Then they’ll do the tow, but before dropping the vehicle they’ll ask to settle up. Now they’ve got your car hooked and are asking for more money. Not a lot of options but to pay up. The best defense here is a strong offense. You’ll have to educate yourself in order to avoid this scam.
Now if you’re on the side of a busy highway I encourage you to do whatever is necessary to get yourself off the roadway as quickly as possible. That might mean paying too much or falling for a scam. But hey, at least you’re safe.
On the other hand, if you have a few minutes to plan, think about the following:
- Ask lots of questions, especially if they use terms you don’t understand. Ask what go-jacks, dollies, lockout, etc. mean.
- Ask them, for the price or a quote for service and have them itemize the expenses for you… over the phone. Make the list of expenses.
- Know the mileage your vehicle will be traveling. Most companies will charge a “hook-rate” – a fee to hookup / unhook the vehicle. Then a per mile fee to cover mileage. Some companies will charge a flat rate, say $95 for up to 5 miles. Don’t let them charge you “point to point” which is the mileage from their location to your vehicle, then to the vehicle destination, then back to their yard. Unless you’re somewhere far from town don’t let them charge you “en-route” or “unloaded” mileage. That would be an extra fee for mileage to your vehicle while the truck is “en-route” to you.
- Get a 2nd and a 3rd quote. I don’t think you’ll need to call every provider on the list, but it doesn’t hurt to have options. Make sure you ask everyone for their expected eta (estimated time of arrival). It might be worth a few extra $$$’s to not be sitting and waiting for hours.
- Look at their website… for things posted above.
Damage to Your Vehicle
Admittedly this doesn’t happen often, but it can happen. My first couple of weeks towing I damaged two vehicles. I think every tow truck driver operator has damaged a vehicle at least once in his career. Here’s a few things you can do to ensure that if your vehicle does get damaged by the operator, you will be compensated.
The two types of tow trucks you’re likely to encounter are a flatbed / roll-off truck or a wheel lift / auto-loader style truck. Use the couple of minutes before the operator arrives to prepare.
- The flatbed has a deck that tilts and lowers to the tires of your vehicle. A winch cable is attached to parts of your vehicle that are normally rigid and structurally sound – your frame, axle, a heavy leaf spring, or specific hook points designed for towing. The winch then slowly pulls the vehicle onto the deck (the flatbed).
- The wheel lift is a truck with a retractable boom that lifts and shifts. The arm slide underneath the vehicle and grabs the tires with the arms. The arms then lift the vehicle either by the rear tires or the front tires.
Both types of tow trucks are going to approach your vehicle from the bottom / underneath. So, if damage is going to occur, it’s going to happen at the bottom of the car. It would behoove you to take pictures along the bottom of your vehicle. Make sure you time stamp the photos. Most digital cameras and camera phones have an option to include a time stamp. If you have areas with existing damage, take pictures of those too – just in case, they get worse.
If your vehicle is picked up by the front, it’s wise to take pictures of the dirt / water guard (big plastic type cover protecting the front 1/3 of the vehicle from dirt, rocks, water, etc. Wheel lift type trucks may sometimes damage the cover.
You need to know if your vehicle is front wheel drive, rear wheel, or all-wheel drive. A front wheel drive needs to be towed by the front tires with a wheel lift. A flatbed should have skates under the front tires while it’s being drug up onto the flatbed. All wheel drive cars should only be towed on a wheel lift with a set of dollies. All wheel drive cars should be put in neutral before they are rolled up onto a flatbed.
When vehicles are attached to the flatbed, they need to have 4 points of connection to the deck. The winch line is not counted as a connection point. This can be a combination of straps and chains. Most operators will put four tire straps around each tire. Or throw some chains around the axle.
A wheel lift should also have 4 points of connection. There will be a strap over each of the tires. Then the operator should connect 2 chains from the chain box to the under carriage of your vehicle.
In Closing
This is by no means an exhaustive list. There are so many more things that can happen. If you have any questions on practices that you’ve witnessed by corrupt tow truck drivers / operators that you deem questionable. Feel free to reach out to us with any questions or comments. We can be reached at [email protected]. We love to help, we love to tow, we love all things automotive. But most of all, we love you, our customers, partners, and associates.
We operate with Honesty, Integrity, and Ethics!
Protect Yourself From The Scam
