Tow-truck tyranny – Motorists beware of this scam
Motorists should not allow being bullied on accident scenes.
Another motorist has fallen prey to a scam by a well-known towing company.
On Monday morning (4 December), a vehicle slammed into the back of Tammy Porhen’s vehicle at the corner of Constantia Drive and JG Strydom Road. Within minutes, two tow-trucks from the same towing company were on the scene and wanted to know from her whether she had insurance. She said she didn’t. A short while later, they returned with a cellphone, saying they had the other driver’s insurance company on the line. This company was allegedly willing to have her vehicle repaired with a third-party claim and she would not have to pay anything. Since her vehicle was still in a drivable condition, she declined, saying she had to get to work. The tow-truck driver then gave her the cellphone to talk to the insurance person. The man told her that she would get a claim number via SMS soon, but the vehicle had to be towed otherwise they would not be able to repair it. She then agreed and her vehicle was towed away.
Read more: Tow-truck tyranny: the industry’s dark underbelly
She subsequently received an SMS with the claim number, but when she phoned the insurance company they told her they had not sent an SMS and that the claim number does not exist. They also advised her that she must immediately go to the panelbeater and fetch her vehicle. The panelbeater conveniently happened to be owned by the towing company. When she went to fetch her vehicle yesterday, they told her she had to pay a total of R8 800 for the towing and storage in order to release it.
Porphen said she only had R6 000. The towing company accepted the cash and released her vehicle.
It is not the first time the Record has heard of this scam and motorists are warned not to be bullied on the accident scene and not to assume that because they spoke to someone from an ‘insurance’ company, the offer is legitimate.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
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