Hi there. A drunk driver drove his car into my backyard about a month ago, and needed a pretty extensive tow to get it out. The driver does not have car insurance, so the towing company attempted to use my homeowner's insurance to cover the cost of the removal, clean-up, and towing. My insurance is denying the claim, stating that the towing company should pursue payment from the car's driver.
My question is whether I have responsibility for paying this out of pocket. My thought is that they should go after the driver, not me. But they said in their email that since the city and I "requested the tow," it's on me to pay. (The police are the ones who called the company to remove the car, not me). Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Responsible for towing driver's car off my property
byu/Wonderful-Bluejay354 inInsurance
Posted by Wonderful-Bluejay354
15 Comments
The car owner would be responsible. Tell the tow vendor they can put a hold on the vehicle and go after the owner.
They’ll place the responsibility on whoever they think will pay. Tell the tow company it’s not your car so it’s not your tow. How can they make you pay anyway?
I wouldn’t pay a penny, not my car not my problem. If they think you’re going to pay them tell them to bring the car back, tell them you aren’t paying anything, lol
“(The police are the ones who called the company to remove the car, not me).” Give them the reporting officers name from the police report and even offer up a direct line if you have one to the station/officer. Then say, have a nice day, this was who ordered the tow.
Towing is a contracted service. You didnt sign anything, didnt verbally request anything, so you dont owe anything.
Tow companies are vultures and charlatans. The tow companies where i live are almost always under investigation for being shitheads.
Tell them to eat shit and not contact you again. They are seeing what they can get away with.
This is absolutely not your responsibility. You are a victim as in your property was damaged by the driver. You are most likely entitled to restitution as well. I can imagine your yard is in rough shape after this
Tell the tow it’s not your car and you never requested/agreed to the tow.
It’s laughable that the property owner would be liable. Part of doing police towing, is that a large part of the time, all you get is the junk car.
REFUSE to pay! The driver is at fault and his insurance should pay. If no insurance then he would have to pay out of pocket. Under no circumstances should your hone owners policy pay for this. Good luck!
I am going to steal a phrase I saw earlier today because I liked it so much. Tell them to go pound sand until it turns into glass. Should you be feeling extra spicy, you can add in George Carlin’s “7 Words You Can’t Say On TV” bit. Please use all of them, although that will take some creativity. But I have faith in you.
You do not owe for this tow. If you want to follow their logic, tell them that they owe you the damage done by the drunk to your property and that you need their insurance information to pursue the claim. They don’t, and that claim would be rightfully denied, but it’s a branch of the same logic these rocket surgeons are using.
Tell them you didn’t sign anything requesting the removal and until they can produce that document to not contact you again. If you have a friend that is a lawyer tell them they can contact your attorney going forward.
Thry already filed it with your insurance, who evaluated the claim and denied it. Why would you have to pay out of pocket? If they contact you again, tell them to talk to your insurance company or the police department.
If the police ordered the tow, then you have no skin in the game. Tell the tow yard to call the PD that ordered the tow, and not to contact you again. I would also contact the stat attorney general to file a complaint against the tow provider for trying tong to go after your insurance when it was a police ordered tow.
The tow company is fishing for money. You don’t owe shit.
Ultimately it’s on the driver, but getting it from him might be the problem… I’m pretty confident you’d win a lawsuit against them to recover damages, but that doesn’t collect the money or make them pay. Hopefully someone reading will have experience in this .. your options likely vary by state .. try asking Gemini or another AI the question and see what it says… Just be sure to verify the results before you take action… You really need a local attorney for proper legal advice. Maybe your employer has an EAP where you can consult an attorney for free ..