Towing/ Wrecker Bill

That's the most epic rip off in the history of the world.

 

To make an accurate determination of the invoice we need more information. On the surface it may seem excessive but consider the location, it is a high traffic density area and part of the quick clearance initiatives that lead to higher recovery bills. Now to accurately assess this bill I would need the following;

• Pictures of the damage
• Did they need to unload or transfer the load?
• Was there an cargo or fluids spilled?
• Did they split the truck and trailer and use specialized equipment such as a trailer dolly to support the damaged axle(s)?
• How long was the towing company on scene waiting for police or fire department to release the scene?
• Did the towing company provide traffic control or did the PD or DOT?
• Did the tower transfer the load to a different truck or trailer?
• Were there any other extenuating circumstances?

It is easy to see a $19k invoice for a "tow" and think it was excessive without knowing all the facts of the job. The distance the vehicle was towed is almost irrelevant when dealing with crashes, fires or other recoveries.

 

One other thing not mentioned in your list. What did the tow company do to clean up the mess on the road after the tow? From the easy of sweeping debris to the possibility of having to hire a sub contractor to fix any damaged roadway.... Removing any contaminated dirt on the side of the road etc.

There is a lot more involved in a recovery operation than moving a truck a mile down the road.

 

Its bit high ! When my stinger burnt in 2013 - towing bill was 23.5 , truck completely burnt ...i thought it was high untill i talked to one of the wreckers in chicago ...its average bill for them ...have insurance involved if you have one

 

The insurance company is going to pay. so I would let them worry about the price.

and there’s good info on the above post .

A fire can be a messy cleanup.

Or it could be just hook it and roll and only took an hour from when the two truck left the yard till when they got back .

 

You did notice they used 2 tow trucks and three roll off dumpsters? it also took 3.5 hours for the recovery.
Either your friend isn't being truthful in how simple it was, or the tow company is committing major fraud. If the tow company is committing fraud, he needs to turn it into the insurance and let their lawyers handle it.

 

3 rollbacks. Not rolloffs.

That seems like they charged for a rotator a heavy wrecker and 3 roll backs and a service truck. Seems like an awful lot of equipment when all they did was remove the tire set and chain up an axle.

 

rollbacks, not roll off. But there are a lot of unnecessary charges on the face of it.

 

Thanks for noticing that, I probably shouldn't post when I'm going on 20 hours awake.
Still, an awful lot of trucks for not even a tow. Just a drive off. I know fraud is possible anytime, I'd be more inclined to believe the person telling the tale is not 100% forthcoming in the account. It is after all, a 3rd hand account (at least) of what happened.