Tow company damages car and say their not responsbile to pay?

kovacs32

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So I dont have all of the facts yet until i can get my buddy to calm down and explain a little better but from what I gather this is what happened.

His girlfriend was driving his 2000 Expedition when it suddenly shut off and would not restart. He has AAA and called them to get a tow truck, the operator asked and he confirmed the vehicle was all wheel drive and would need to be flat bed towed. Meantime his brother meets his girlfriend to give her a ride and sees the regular tow truck pull up and start hooking up to the truck. He tells the tow driver the truck is AWD and that it needs to be flat bedded.

The tow driver says their flats are all busy at the time and that he would dolly the wheels. So the brother and girlfriend leave and go home to Milan (truck was broke down in A2) about 45 mins later here comes the tow truck with the expedition being towed from the rear with no dollys under the wheel. As the driver is dropping the truck my buddy is asking him why he towed it that way and told him itmost likely damaged the Tcase/ or trans. The driver told him it wouldnt have hurt a thing and to call his supervisor if he had a problem with how he towed it.

So, the truck gets towed a second time (different company) to the local ford dealership where the tech states that the original reason the truck shut down was a faulty coil pack, and that the transfere case and transmission are damaged from being towed. My buddy calls the tow company and the supervisor admits the driver made a mistake in the way he towed the truck but said he is not liable for the damage, and that the damage was probably done before being towed.

What kind of advice do you guys have for me to give him? hes pretty upset, especially since he just put a newer engine in the truck 6 months ago.
 
They are going to claim he signed a waiver for any damage, but if he pursues the issue in court, they will most likely be found liable. Have your friend find an attorney to send the towing company a letter, that might scare them into paying.
 
it has Auto4wd, 4H and 4L selctions. Not sure how the auto works though? doesit use a viscous coupler like in my AWD explorer or does it run strictly off the wheel speed sensors?
 
and from what i understand the front and rear axles need to be turning in near sync at all times, other wise it will damage the clutches in the case amongst other things. But im no expert, thats why im posting it here.
 
Make an insurance claim and have the insurance company get the money from the tow company and or AAA. This is a comprehensive loss. Pay the deductible and move on.
 
He should have waited for a flatbed to become available. Bummer

he never said he couldnt wait, his girl was getting picked up regardless so if they tow company took an extra hour to flatbed it he wouldn't have cared, not like he had plans for it anyways. This isnt a small time tow company either, one of the bigger/est ones in A2.
 
Make an insurance claim and have the insurance company get the money from the tow company and or AAA. This is a comprehensive loss. Pay the deductible and move on.

he has talked with AAA alreayd and they said they were going to review the incident and they would get back to him. Also, I belive he has PLPD insur
 
by the way, thats scary to know a tow company can fuck your shit up and get away with it, if what was stated above is true. Guess you gotta read the fine print!
 
sounds like U LOSE Towing must have towed it instead of U WIN

And why does your friend have AAA towing, yet only PLPD?
 
by the way, thats scary to know a tow company can fuck your shit up and get away with it, if what was stated above is true. Guess you gotta read the fine print!

No, they are not allowed to screw your stuff up. But sometimes the liability can be tied to who hired them (AAA).
 
Make a claim against the tow companies insurance, its a "defective work product". No deductible for your buddy and a rental car.
 
sounds like U LOSE Towing must have towed it instead of U WIN

And why does your friend have AAA towing, yet only PLPD?

AAA requires you to purchase their membership prior to them selling you insurance, limited free towing is included in that membership. I have it.

No, they are not allowed to screw your stuff up. But sometimes the liability can be tied to who hired them (AAA).

i see, but the lady did acknowledge and agree that the truck needed to be flatbed towed?
 
Make a claim against the tow companies insurance, its a "defective work product". No deductible for your buddy and a rental car.

He's trying to afford a lawyer to fight the case, however he's not financially well right now. Thats why i feel bad for him loosing his truck.
 
And the part that gets me is that this supervisor/boss has agreed and admitted his driver fucked up with the tow, but claims theres now way to prove that the tow caused the damage and that it wasnt their before the tow. I did tell my buddy to try to record the phone calls with the guy if the speak again.
 
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