On Dec. 13th there was a snow storm and I was held up at work, I almost get all the way home (less than 0.5mi away) around 930pm but end up sliding and hanging off the road (Photos) with no damage to my vehicle. I call in a tow to get winched out, a truck comes and sits at the top of the road and winches my car. He starts pulling, drags my car through the trees a bit then tells me to get back in the vehicle to straighten the wheel, I do so and he drags me more through the trees, pulls my bumper off and finally gets my car up to the top of the hill. He walks around front, investigates my bumper while I am also out of the vehicle. The car starts sliding and I notice that the backend is no longer winched. While the car is sliding he tells me to get back in the vehicle, I do not because of safety and the car slides over the edge of the road, tumbles and abruptly lands on all 4s (Photo).
The car stayed there for about 2-3 days until it was finally picked up without notifying me at all. I call them to ask for their insurance, they say they don't know what their insurance is after speaking to at least two people and that they will file it on their end and that they have my information.
Fast forward to present day, I give them another call, they still "don't know" their insurance provider, or at least refuse to provide it and they lied about filing a claim..
NOTE: A police report was filed awhile back but for negligence, not insurance related. I only paid for state minimum liability (WV).
What should I do about this tow company that refuses to claim liability.
byu/cjb0034 inInsurance
Posted by cjb0034
4 Comments
I was gonna say go to your own insurance but seems like you only have liability so.. right now you are at their mercy. Sadly these things can really take a long time. You are not their priority.
Without property damage coverage on your vehicle, you really have no other option other than suing in small claims.
Hopefully, once served they’ll turn it over to their insurer. If not, winning may be easier than actually collecting.
Collecting can be a pain.
What a bummer. That’s the downside of having liability only – you can’t send your own insurance company after them.
Send them a formal demand letter for the full cost of any repairs. Put it on official looking letterhead, or better yet, pay a lawyer a few hundred dollars to send it on their letterhead. That should incite them into action. If it doesn’t, you’re going to have to sue them.
Check with your state licensing authority to see if their insurance information is listed anywhere.
Depending on the total of repairs that might be above the small claims court limit in your state and you might have to go to a higher court.
Also many towing companies have a deductible on their liability claims and they pay thecfirst $5,000-$10000 of any claims.