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Damn it's always about AAA


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Topic Originally created by auto rescue back in 2006:

Wrecker war seizes Windham

By Michael Hartwell
Reporter

WINDHAM (Nov 29, 2006): Several Windham towing companies have expressed outrage and frustration over the way the town chooses who gets to remove vehicles from accident scenes.

Police Chief Richard Lewsen characterized the situation as "an ethical dispute between some of the wrecker operators."

When an accident occurs that requires a vehicle to be towed and the owner of the disabled vehicle does not request a specific company, police call the next business on the non-preference towing rotation list. The five Windham towing companies who make the list pay the town $100 annually for each tow truck they operate, known as "wreckers," and take turns removing damaged vehicles, according to Pam Varney who owns Varney's Auto Body with her husband Scott.

All five of Windham’s towing companies also repair automobiles. Unless otherwise requested, towing companies normally drop damaged vehicles off at their own facility, which gives them a significant advantage when the vehicle owner chooses where to have it repaired, according to Mark Cobb, owner of Cobb's Collision Center.

The real money from towing, Cobb said, is in the repairs made to towed vehicles.

The Code of the Town of Windham states in Chapter 220, commonly referred to as the towing ordinance, "When a vehicle operator does not designate a specific towing business or auto club or similar entity that provides roadside service, the request shall be considered a non-preference request by the town, thereby subject to the town's towing rotation list."



The owners of two local towing companies told the Windham Town Council at a Nov. 21 meeting that Atlas Auto Body, one of two Windham towing companies that are contractors for AAA, is using its AAA position to circumvent the town's towing rotation. (Photo by Michael Hartwell)



Lewsen said that in practice, an officer at an accident scene will say to the vehicle operator, "Do you have a preference for a wrecker." Lewsen added, "If the operator falters or seems confused, the officer says 'Do you have AAA.'"

Several local towing companies say this is unfair because AAA, the American Automobile Association, is a business and should not receive special mention by the police.

"When someone's had an airbag go off in their face at 80 miles an hour and they're dazed, they're going to just say, 'yeah, whatever, just get me out of here,'" said Gary Connell, owner of Advanced Towing & Transport.

Lewsen estimates that 70 percent of the vehicle operators his department responds to have AAA. He also stated that 850,000 families in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont have AAA as well.

Varney and Cobb told the town council at the Nov. 21 meeting that Atlas Auto Body, one of two Windham towing companies that are contractors for AAA, is using its AAA position to circumvent the towing rotation, towing the vehicle back to its shop, and then calling AAA and canceling the tow request.

Lewis Weatherby, who owns Atlas Auto Body with his wife Joanne, said this is to the customer's advantage because AAA members are only allowed four service calls each year. When the AAA call is canceled, the vehicle's insurance company pays for the towing charge.

"It's an option we mention to them, Joanne Weatherby said. "That is completely the member's choice."

Towing companies can become contractors for AAA by agreeing to perform service calls, such as freeing stuck vehicles or opening cars with the keys locked inside. The contractor cannot refuse any of these calls and is paid a fixed agreed-upon amount for each performed. The contractor benefits by receiving more tow calls, but AAA only pays the same fixed amount for each of these as well.

Lewis Weatherby said his fixed amount is $25 per AAA call. He said Windham’s other AAA-contracted towing company, G&K Motors, receives slightly more because they have agreed to cover a larger area for AAA.

A non-AAA tow can be billed for several hundred dollars, Varney said. AAA doesn't mind when Atlas Auto Body cancels a call because they don't have to pay them $25, Varney said.

"He's found a loophole and he's working it," said Varney.

The Weatherbys and their competitors all said that there is no advantage to having a vehicle towed by a AAA contracted wrecker over one that is not because most insurance policies pay for towing charges in the event of an accident.

"AAA is of no benefit in an accident whatsoever," Varney said.

Matt Ivy, the AAA field representative who oversees Windham, declined comment.

Varney and Cobb also told the town council that on several recent occasions Atlas Auto Body has taken a damaged vehicle back to its own yard even when the customer requested it be brought to one of their body shops.

Lewis Weatherby said he has no choice in this matter because they are following AAA procedures. They said they need to confirm that a AAA member operated the vehicle before they can be paid for the tow and release the vehicle. This can't be done immediately if the member was taken from the accident in an ambulance, he said.

"We don't even know if they're a member at this point," Joanne Weatherby added.


Towing compromise

Windham Police Sgt. Ron Ramsdell estimates that 450 damaged vehicle tows are performed in Windham each year.

Chief Lewsen said that once a vehicle is towed, it's outside his control.

"The first priority is the safety of the accident victims," said Lewsen. "A very close second priority is traffic safety. We wish to clear the scene of the wrecks just as soon as possible."

Lewsen described people in car accidents, and subsequently being asked what they want done with their damaged vehicles, as "injured, in shock, or at the very least, very stressed out."

Cobb recommended that Windham police ask accident victims if they belong to a motor club and not mention AAA by name.

Town officials have asked the Windham towing companies to come together and propose an amendment concerning the way police handle the tow rotation list.

The towing ordinance was last amended on April 10, 1995 after several towing companies complained that Atlas Auto Body was legally allowed to take up several slots on the tow rotation list by registering his wreckers with different gas stations in the area and defining them as separate businesses.

Also on the towing ordinance is a demerit system designed to punish towing companies who fail to respond to undesirable tows when called. Lewis Weatherby and Cobb said the town has not enforced this.
 

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Ed Reuter said:

aaa covers accidents in central ny. same thing happens here. ed

 

Wade200 said:

So they are "using" AAA to get the call and then charging normal rates after they already have the call.
Joanne says it is the customers choice whether they use AAA or regular insurance. So if the customer does use AAA, this company is only getting $25 to work a wreck.emoticonnuts.gif
aa.jpg
Daniel Wade
 
SlimSanta said:
This is nothing new, it has been going on since Moses parted the Red Sea. AlDakota Service & Repair, Brookings, SD
d2410980.jpg
 
FLCOWBOYINIRAQ said:
why should aaa cover wrecks when the registered owner should have insurance? in florida as far as i know aaa and other clubs do not and should not cover wrecks. whos to say these people get paid from aaa then write the insurance a rotation bill? the customer would never know as the same for aaa and the insurance.

john fenshaw
 
auto rescue said:
1) If the person paid for AAA membership they are entitled to use it.
2) Not all towers are thief's we all set our own standards and live by them, do we sometimes judge others by our own standards?
I think the point of this story should be that it's the individual AAA contractors that are the focal point not AAA itself.
 
FLCOWBOYINIRAQ said:
i know all towers are not thiefs i never intended that maybe i worded it wrong. sorry if i affended anyone. i know aaa does not pay the wrecker companies no where what the are worth. i know if i owned a wrecker i would not want to be working a wreck for 25 dollars when myself or another tower could be writting a rotation bill. and you are right about this topic just expressing my view thats all. and as for my standerds i have a great name as a heavy operator in my state, i would rather have repeat buisness then to steal from a customer those are my standerds plus i have been very fortunate to work for two wrecker companies that did not and would never do aaa.

john fenshaw
 
auto rescue said:
Just so I'm not misunderstood you most certainly are entitled to express your views and I as well as others look forward to seeing more of them.

Peoples view points whether they be left, right, or center and regardless of who agrees or dis agrees with them is what keeps us on our toes and makes life interesting to say the least.
 
bals67 said:
It would seem I have messed up once again here. Please excuse me. I have removed my message because I posted it under my husband's sign on instead of my own. So sorry. I can't figure how to totally remove it so I will 'get out, get in on my name' and repost.
 
FLCOWBOYINIRAQ said:
also if the police can ask do you have aaa? does he ask about all the other moter clubs too? maybe they should print off a list of other motor clubs aaa is not the only one out there providing service.

john fenshaw
 
brostow13 said:
We have a similar situation going on here in our neck of the woods but not just with CAA the canadian version of AAA but with any motor club that he can .We did some legwork ie;called all of the motor clubs that service this area and inquired as to their policies regarding accidents . The results were a resounding "no ,we do not cover accidents ",with the exception of CAA who stated that they make rare exceptions to cover based on a call by call basis ,but it is rare .So we took this new information with our i's dotted and t's crossed to the local traffic Sgt.who to say the least was quite surprised to find out that he was having the wool pulled over his eyes by said towing company .This came to a screaching halt and things have returned to somewhat normal ,well as normal as it gets around here but shall I say a little more fair .
I forgot to mention that we are also contractors for these motor clubs and we pointed this out to the Sgt. but also noted to him that we refused to play this little game as it cancan result in double billing for the unfortunate customer who was involved in an accident (not saying this has happened just pointing out that it could )at any rate our callouts has tripled latelyemoticonthumb.gif

Mark
 
Wade200 said:
I don't think double billing is the problem as much as, the companies that accept AAA are "skipping" the other companies on the list. Then, they charge the customer as if it were a normal rotation without involving AAA at all. That is very unfair to the other towers on the rotation list.

Basically, they are using AAA as an excuse to get more rotation calls. Because you know they aren't fighting to be able to do $25 wrecks.
aa.jpg
Daniel Wade
 
brostow13 said:
Daniel ,you are absolutely right ,they are using AAA or in our case CAA to get more rotation calls ,and if they were legitamitely doing a AAA or CAA call I would say go ahead and fill their boots if they want to be that stupid to actually do this call for 25.00 .But the sad part is they get the call and then play they're games with the bill .Kinda wrecks it for all of us .I like a lot of people hate motor club calls with a passion but as a small company right now they are a neccessary evil .
I guess my point is ( and I apologize for rambling )it would be nice for once to have all this rotation bull$h!t run fairly .After all isn't that the point of a rotation ?

Mark
 
auto rescue said:
Rotation is run for the convenience of law enforcement nothing else, when run in conjunction with regulated rates then it's supposed to be for the protection of the person being serviced, no where, never, has it ever been for the fair treatment of the towing industry.

I run AAA service calls and have for 27 years+ and I consider it good business practice to convert all 3a calls to cash calls that the system allows that's part of where the real money is, I do however object to the practice which is the point of this post of 3a contractors representing to law enforcement that it's in the individual best interest to have a 3a service provider only called. The member has paid their dues and they are entitled to receive the benefits as long as I provide the same level of service to the request as I would a cash call request. If the individual request AAA and AAA can respond in just as timely a manner as the next guy then AAA should get the call even if it's say calls in a row or more.

AAA and other motor clubs and dispatch services only get away with paying cheap below standard rates because we as an industry have allowed it to happen with the first step in the downhill spiral being the fact that so many charge such low charges just to be the cheapest cash call in the area to get the most calls so the other guy doesn't get them profit be damned.

If you think the AAA system is bad wait until the body shops pitch to the police that they will tow accidents for free as long as it goes back to their shop just like the guys offering free towing with auto repairs!
 
brostow13 said:
John ,I fail to see how a rotation is convenient for law enforcement call me stupid or naive but I was always under the impression that it (rotation)was established so that different companies got an equal "kick at the can "so to speak .Also we do not have regulated rates .This may even be part of our problem I'm not sure if I want to be regulated ,what are your thoughts?
.My biggest problem with what this guy is doing is he is basically lying to the customer who is for the moment at wits end ."Yes I will take your CAA (AAA)and I'll tow it to my impound ,It will be better for you there to wait for the insurance adjusters "and then WHAM they get an elevated bill for storage and towing ."Yes m'am CAA(AAA)did pay for the tow but they didn't cover the cleanup of the scene or the storage ".or "no sir CAA(AAA)wouldn't cover the tow "I have personally heard this story too many times and it is disheartening to know that he is going to rip them off and has had so many people fooled .
More to the point ,John I agree with what you say about AAA(CAA)and yes it is good business sense .I guess my point is I personally don't like what heis doing .

Mark
 
auto rescue said:
I totally agree with the dis like of the procedure being used here but the system is being manipulated by the contracror to grab all the accident /police type calls which I feel is wrong, but I'd bet you a penny AAA could care less about it as long as the member gets serviced and they don't have to deal with it.

As for being the convenience of law enforcement I mean they don't have to decide who is closest to the incident and could respond the fastest, who gives good or crappy eta, levels of service, who does more damage during a recovery than the initial damage etc. and they have a pat answer when the customer calls complaining about the bill (non regulated), that answer being "we called the next truck on the rotation list".

Michigan Public Service Commission did away with filing rates several years ago and I do not miss it the least bit emoticonthumb.gif
 
brostow13 said:
John ,thanks for your reply,
1 .I owe you a penny ,you are right they don't care,which I feel is wrong because the member has no recourse through them (the motor club).
2.I actually had a smart moment this morning and figured out about the rotation all by myself emoticonpoke.gif not one of my finer moments emoticonthud.gif need emoticonjava.gif
3.I thought the regulated rates would be a bad thing .Hopefully they never happen here .
Again thank you for the reply and the answer to my questions I appreciate it .

Mark
 
auto rescue said:
If the vehicle is going to a body shop it normally has full coverage insurance which we ask to make sure and as long as they do we don't bother with trying to explain it's automatically billed to the body shop as an insurance claim
1; why should the insurance company get credit for the owner being a 3a member
2; it's in accordance with 3a policy even if the member has 3a insurance
3; if they do not have other coverage then 3a will pick up the tow tab, this has been verified with the 3a rep numerous times over the years.
 
 
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