Man says tow company damaged fence, yard when returning his car (IN)

[TowNews]

 

[rreschran]

Over the years, I've handled plenty of damage claims just like this one. While I feel bad that Mr. Hatfield totaled his car ... coming to the tow operator's defense, why didn't Hatfield yell at the tow truck driver to STOP backing up or warn him versus saying nothing? It looks like there's limited space to get the vehicle in-there to begin with, especially if this off-load was with a carrier. This is an example of tower's trying to go the extra mile for their customer and this happens. From what I see, there's minimal damage done to both fences that could be easily repaired with some touch-up and a little stain.  However, could that debris in the muffler have happened elsewhere as evidenced by the marking on the vehicle's windshield? Let's sum this up ... car is totaled, had to pay the tow bill and then a second tow out, how can the owner get his dollars back on all of that ... let's make a huge media deal out of this.

 

The tow company's response is reasonable in not having yet talked with a night driver and not seeing the video. I'm sure that the tow company can easily make this go away as there may be some responsibility there. I guess it was a slow night for news to make this such a big deal. I think that if the tow driver left an early morning note for the owner, or maybe called the owner as it happened, the owner wouldn't have been blind-sided by the news station. This story leads to the question ... "At what lengths should towers park a customer's vehicle where they want it based on access or in-the-way objects?      R.

[yoBdaBenO]

Looks Like A Narrow Alley.. And It Was DARK when the driver dropped it off. Many Drivers DO NOT Get Out and LOOK. Somehow they think that makes them look unprofessional. However A Professional would get out and check it out first. You never know what's hiding, one of our guys blew a tire cause the Lady Never Told Him there was rebar on the pad she wanted it dropped on. He Should Have Gotten Out and Looked. Lesson Learned...

 

Sadly it was out truck tire and not her totaled car!

[fenderbendr6]

Sometimes you just have to say no, I can't put it there! Offer to unload it in the alley and let the owner deal with it from there.

I have to question why this secondary tow was done after dark in the first place, and how the driver knew that the owner wanted it in that hole if there wasn't a conversation to that effect before the owner retreated into hiding to video tape the unloading.

It almost looks like a set up to sue for damages.

[TowZone]

"how the driver knew that the owner wanted it in that hole"

 

The vehicle owner was there and shot the video seen in the news report. So, he watched and made a video as the driver was unloading the vehicle into the fence. It is likely that being late the driver was listening the the cars owner and did not check for or see the fence. That is no excuse, but it does put the vehicles owner at fault for not being involved in the vehicles placement. The fix is easy and the car is totaled, it will likely sit there for quite sometime as I am going to assume he did not had proper coverage to repair it or total it.

 

Posting this to Social Media was likely his claim to a couple of minutes national attention. TikTok YouTube etc. generates plenty of this, must have been a slow news cycle for the workingforyou series. Otherwise this was a nothing burger, the tow company owner dealt with it in a professional manner. Literally decimating the story and reducing it to impactful... 

[Moose]

So, let's get the right. The customer stands there and let's this happen VIDEO's IT then wants to make a claim the next day. Looks like was was part of a planned stunt following an unplanned accident and the tow driver fell for it. Everyone with a Cell Phone wants their 5 minutes of Fame.

[someotherplace]

So he's calling that a "fence" ...

 

Richard

[Moose]

Yeah, it's a cheapo fence. The tow company likely sent a guy out there to stand it back up. Of course they did this and the guy stood there as if they were changing his tire. When they were done he asked what was going to be done to fix the car. Grass in the tail pipe and a small scratch on the passenger rear.

 

IT'S TOTALED No, I'm going to get this car fixed.