How To Keep Yourself Safe From The Towing Scams
What can go wrong in getting a towing service? All they do is tow your car to a safe location where it can be repaired, right? Well, if this is what you think then you are up for a surprise journey in this article. In this article, we will discuss some of the most cunning and evil ways that non-professional towing companies scam innocent people like you. It’s important to know what are the scams, why companies do it, and what the scam looks like. We will discuss what are the common scams and later we will discuss how to avoid them. So, let’s start with our journey and learn how to outsmart towing scams: stay safe on the road.
Types of scams
It’s not the company that you called
People see an ad for a towing company or they get their number from somewhere. They call the towing company for help, to which they willingly agree. When the towing vehicle arrives, people are surprised that it’s not the company that they called for help. Bigger companies do this to avoid heavy investment while still catering to all their customer. What they do is that they outsource the work to smaller companies. These companies are often not licensed and rarely have the right equipment to safely tow your vehicle to a safe place. They might complete the task, but can severely damage your vehicle in the process. The worst part is that no one will be there to take responsibility for it. In such a situation, it is best to call the company to inquire about the people they sent or you can just simply hire someone else to help you.
Exploiting the customers and overcharging
It’s evil but people do it because they want to get more profit off of their customers. Companies know that when someone is calling for a towing service, they are probably desperate for help. They also are aware of the fact that the majority of the people haven’t got a towing service before and don’t know what are the fair prices for such a service. They can easily exploit the customer by taking advantage of their vulnerability and situation. Companies will overcharge their customers and try to get as much cash from them. Obviously, if you had a small accident and your vehicle is immovable, you won’t be calling multiple people and getting quotes from them. You will simply call the nearest company to help you with your car. You will trust them and pay whatever they demand.
Suggesting you a repairmen
If a so-called towing professional suggests you a repairman then know that he or she is a scam. All they are doing in the name of towing is getting more clients for a particular workshop. People will suggest to you the best repairman to whom they will get a commission. They mostly work with these workshops on a commission system. They get a commission from the repairman for every car that they bring into their workshop. Now the repairmen aren’t going to pay the towing company from their own pocket. The repairmen will overcharge you and then take both his profit and the tower’s commission out of it. Make sure that whenever a towing expert suggests taking you to a trusted repairman, never say “yes” to that.
Exaggerating the situation/damage
You will find it very common that the towing company will exaggerate the situation you are in just so that they can charge you more. They will find every way and opportunity to prove that your vehicle needs a lot of work. If your vehicle needs a simple tire change, they will suggest that the whole rim has to be changed. If the car can be set back on the road with a jumpstart, they will suggest taking it to their own workshop or another workshop where they take a commission. There are many other ways that they will try to convince you that your vehicle’s situation is very bad when in reality it’s not. Most people aren’t aware of all the technicalities that they will discuss and agree with almost everything that the person says.
How to avoid these frauds
Document everything
Documentation is the key. Documenting everything will ensure that you are paying only for the things that you have asked for. If the company doesn’t mention that they will provide the documentation then it does not necessarily mean that they are a fraud. You can simply ask them to bring in all the paperwork for the service that they will be providing. This includes all the services and their prices. If the company disagrees to do that then stop right there and search for another one. If the company says that they will comply with your request, then you can comfortably proceed with taking their services.
Know your car
Every car owner should know how their car works and what the basic components are. Having knowledge about your car and its functioning will save you from getting scammed by the towing company. If you, your self know that all your car needs is a jumpstart then you will only call them for a jumpstart service. They won’t be able to exaggerate the situation as we previously discussed.
Question them
If you don’t have knowledge about a particular technical aspect, then the best thing to do is to ask questions. Not only will you educate yourself but the expert will also know that if they try to do a scam, chances are that they will get caught.
Conclusion:
Above is a guide on how to outsmart towing scams: stay safe on the road. Now there might be other ways that they can scam you but these are the most common ones that every driver should be aware of. We highly recommend a proactive approach here. Meaning that you should learn more about your car and more about these towing services. Doing so will ensure that when you get into such an unfortunate situation, no one will be able to exploit you.
