Damage Claim

[Tow411]

This Subject was Originally Created on Tow411 in September of 2013:

 

Has anyone ever had any experiences with Agero damage claims? We've never received a damage claim and then today a dreadful email came stating that a member is claiming we had damaged her car. The vehicle had been parked in high grass with a check engine light, abs light and brake light on. The car was all around trashed with dents and scratches all over it. The member was there when we towed the vehicle and now all of the sudden we caused damaged. I'm confident that the member is just looking for a payday because I know we didn't damage her car. Has anyone went through this? Did Agero protect you at all?

 

In Memory of Charlie Amann who said:

no they don't have your back good luck

 

doingitall  said:

"Did Agero protect you at all?" - Quite the opposite, you are guilty with no chance to be innocent with them. By the time you get any contact from them you have already lost, and they will take the money from your forthcoming payments to compensate the vehicles owner.

What damage have you been convicted of causing?

As said above - good luck!

 

WEBOSLH said:

Last December some time I did a w/o for agero and the customer told them, when they called to check on the service I provided, that I had damaged his G-6 winching his car out of the snow covered county road. I called the number provided and I forgotten the gentleman's name, but he was very helpful for me. He told me all he knew was basically the customer was not happy and said his car had been damaged, but did not specify what the damage was. So this rep told me if he hears of something in the next ten days he would let me know and we would take it from there what to do. The customer never called him or any agero agent or rep. I did give agero a statement. But nothing came up so agero and me just let it go. So on this I kind of felt like agero didn't stand against me, but took a wait and see approach. I think that is good.

 

firnrsq33 said:

You were lucky Weboslh i have only had one damage claim and responded to all emails and phone calls, i was at fault and all of the money to pay the claim came out of my future payments for 4 cycles to the tune of 1200 dollars saw the same vehicle the other day it was still not repaired this was over 9 months ago.

 

Thtdon  said:

I have had many experiences with Agero damage claims.  Mostly bad.  They are not fair, and you do not live in a democracy.  It is a dictatorship.  You are guilty until proven innocent, which usually doesn't happen.  Usually the notification arrives in your fax at 4:59 PM, too late for you to call them right back and scream that you didn't do the damage.  You have to stew all night about it, and call them the next day, after you have calmed down.  That is by design.  I think that any and every damage claim that I have ever received was from a motor club customer, and then usually Agero, and never a customer who pays in cash.  There is a definite pattern here.  You have to document significant damage by taking pictures.  The camera in today's Android phones are perfect for that.  You want to make sure that the customer is watching you when you take the pictures.  That is to intimidate them.  If they have any intentions of making a phony damage claim, watching you document the existing damage will hopefully discourage them from doing that.

Now, here's the story, for the hundredth time.  A few years ago, back when Cross Country had the BMW client, I got a call to tow a BMW from a repair shop in downtown Andover, MA to the BMW dealership on Commonwealth Ave. in Boston.  The call came in at  about 7 o'clock at night.  The shop was closed, but they sold gas, and they had a kid working who pumped gas.  I went into the shop and got the key.  I did the walk around, and I discovered that there was a dent in the rear bumper, and also in the trunk lid.  It looked like the customer had backed the car into a telephone pole.  I went back inside, and had the kid come out with me and inspect the damage.  I asked him if he would sign off on the damage as existing.  He agreed to do that.  So I wrote up the invoice, I described the damage on the invoice, and the kid signed it.  I loaded the car onto the flatbed, and headed to Boston.  When I got to the dealership, it was closed.  I parked the car in the parking lot adjacent to the shop.  I put the key where keys go.  And I left.  I got that infamous email at 4:59 PM the next day.  I called Cross Country the next morning.  The damage claim person told me that there were witnesses that watched me back the car into a light pole, dent the back, then put the car on the other side of the lot.  Well, I had the car on a flatbed, and not a wrecker, so what they accused me of made no sense.  I told the damage claim person that I had documented the damage, and that the kid in the filling station had signed off on it.  I had to fax the invoice to CC, and they called the filling station and talked to the kid to confirm what I had stated.  Luckily, the kid didn't throw me under the bus.  He agreed that the damage was there before I got there.  So the claim didn't go any further.  Had I not documented the damage, there is no doubt that I would have had to pay for that bumper and trunk lid.  I truly believe that there was nothing mechanically wrong with that car.  The owner just wanted to get the car on someones flatbed, so he could blame damage that he had most certainly done himself, on an unsuspecting victim like me.  The next night, I drove back to the dealership.  And I checked for this so-called light pole.  There are no light poles in this lot.  The light fixtures that light up that lot are mounted on the building. 

Document everything.  Don't be afraid to decline to service anyone and any vehicle, if you suspect that something is wrong.  In the winter, don't be afraid to refuse to winch cars out of the snow.  If it looks like a damage claim waiting to happen, it probably is.  Establish a winching policy like I have.  I will only winch cars from virgin snow.  I never winch a car through a berm of plowed snow, that someone was too lazy to shovel.

thtdon

 

towtegrity said:

Well thank you for all of your replies! Agero cleared us of any and all damages! The whole situation was honestly handled very well. I was surprised but it went well. The day they cleared us the customers insurance company contacted us saying they didn't agree with Ageros decision and that they needed our insurance information! The agent was so rude! I explained that since Agero cleared us I wasn't giving her anymore information! She hung up on me and I haven't heard anything since!

 

In Memory of NationalAutow who said:

Let's write this one down on paper. Agero actually cleared a vendor??? I am amazed.

We are getting more picky every day about all tows. We easily have the ability to photo every car and upload in the field to our dispatch system. We require it on certain calls such as broken ball joints etc. If one of our drivers tows a car with a broken ball joint and the customer comes back and says we dented a fender, then we show the pics. If we do not have the pics, then the driver pays.

The biggest problem we have is getting the drivers to take and upload the pics.

As far as Agero damage claims go, we stopped handling them years ago due to this issue as well as short pays. The time spent and the money lost on their BS just was not worth it.

 

Thtdon  said:

Although I have had a number of claims that didn't amount to anything, I have never had them literally tell me that the customer's claim was denied.  They just say nothing.  And you hope that no news is good news.

thtdon

 

rdonchann said:

They will try anything without asking questions. We went to a scene and refused to tow a car because the front end was dismantled and pieces hanging off it. Owner said, "It's been like that, go ahead." We refused and told them it's ok until we touch it, then you want us to pay. We took a GOA. 10 days later we got a damage claim for a vehicle that we never touched. They didn't get very far with it but just the idea that they will tag you with it just because somebody says so.

 

Thtdon  said:

Last year, I got a damage claim for a car that I never went to.  The car was supposed to be on the highway.  And I couldn't find it.  I got a GOA.  Needless to say, I told them to shove it.

thtdon

 

In Memory of Charlie Amann who said:

im having more fun taking there cc and beating them into submission. 250 bucks for a 6 mile tow lol!!!!! they keep calling with that charge card I run it before I roll and no discount for a goa