Towed: learning a hard lesson

In these financially hard times, when one learns a hard lesson, it is good to pass it on to as many as you can, so that they can prevent disaster befalling themselves.

I refer to those who do not have comprehensive vehicle insurance on their cars. Nobody expects to have an accident, but when it does happen, take this advice please.

If you are hurt, and your family or friends come to assist you, they will be inclined to just sign the forms needed for a towing truck to get your smashed car off the road and somewhere safe till it can be sorted out later.

Big, big, big mistake.

Especially at night, nobody reads the costs involved in fine print on the back of the release form.

My car was rolled after midnight on a Friday night.

When we arrived at the scene someone had already called a towing truck to take the car away, removal form quickly signed as driver was being checked out by paramedics which demands your immediate attention.

The Saturday morning was the first chance to look at the release document.

The tower advised that the vehicle had to be towed to Springs for safety and security, meanwhile they had a branch not one kilometre from my house in town.

The charges listed on the back of the document were absolutely horrendous. Started calling all the numbers on the form, which listed office hours for Saturdays, but nobody answered.

Went to Benoni branch and was told by security there that company was not open Saturdays.

Called Monday morning as storage fees per day were R295 + VAT per day. Total bill to get my car released R6 500?

Called my local garage who services my car, they gave me another contact to call.

Same day collected car from Springs to my home, at a charge of R750!

R5 750 wasted on admin fees etc., spoils your budget for months to come.

Please take 10 minutes one day to call a couple of towing companies, get a reasonable rate, and then you and your family store their number on your cellphones.

This way, everyone knows what the plan is when you or your family has an accident, and you control who tows away your vehicle, you do not deserve to be ripped off so horribly by any company.

Please consider it as important, almost, as writing out your will.

I know some people’s vehicles have stood in storage for weeks as the owners just do not have the thousands needed to retrieve the vehicle from these financial rapists.

Fair money for a fair service is available!

Protect yourself even if you are insured as most insurances have a cap on how much they are prepared to pay for towing and you may still have to pay in thousands when you don’t need to.

I hope that this information will inspire you to spend half an hour getting decent rates, and then discussing and placing the tower’s numbers on your cell, so that your family and circle of friends also have the numbers to call, and know what to do for each other and you should it be necessary.

Good luck and be prepared to control another part of your finances most people don’t, and then they have major problems.

I knew my car was a write off, and they offered me less than their charges.

Sold the wreck for double what they offered.

Be prepared to calmly say shoo, my contact tower van is on its way, you can leave now thank you.